Magical Compositions
(A tale of the rise and fall of a magical rock band)


By Jacquel Chrissy May

Copyright 2012 Claire Violet Thorpe Productions

Smashwords Edition


Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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Disclaimers
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.


Table of Contents
Chapter 1

Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
Rae Morgan Is A n00b
Today Jabberstorm.com can officially reveal that R.M. is a n00b. This is because R.M. is a complete n00b and cannot do even the simple things in life without causing major problems.
R. didn’t need to tell everyone about her n00b lifestyle. However, Rae ensured everyone did at a worldwide press conference today.
Jabberstorm.com and the other news organizations at the conference couldn’t understand half of what Rae revealed. However we were able to uncover one sentence which basically was the only the real thing that could be gathered out of the conference “I, Rae Morgan, of the Morgan family am pleased to announce to the world I am a complete n00b.”
Also as well, as this Jabberstorm.com uncovered some things to reveal that R. is a n00b. Firstly, R. owns a collection of Chronobats and Space Crusaders merchandise and tells people they are worth $2,000. But what she doesn’t know is that most of the merchandise is nothing more than pure junk and isn’t even worth a single penny.
Later, Jabberstorm.com caught up with R.’s mother. She reluctantly revealed that “Yes, R. is a n00b, but I am proud of R. for carrying on her uncle’s legacy in the cartoon merchandise trade.”
So, be aware of people like R.M. and ensure you don’t go into those n00b ways.
~Submitted by Laurie Frost

Chapter 1
At a school called Gothanburg Academy, 17-year-old Jennifer Warrington and Nancy Levesque watched from their seats as the students were being taken from the school library to the nurse’s office. They had gotten into a scuffle over something one of them had apparently posted about the other on the social site Jabberstorm.com. Both girls shook their heads, thinking to themselves why on earth would people be posting such things about other people on the Internet. Where were the laws that restricted what you could or couldn’t post on the Internet?
Gothanburg Academy was one of the most prestigious schools in the city of Miami, Florida; a place for most of the children of some of the richest people in Miami. The school also took in high-performing students from other high schools, the students who always seemed to earn straight A’s no matter how much or how little effort that they actually put into their schoolwork.
The school was a huge building with nearly 200 classrooms, plus a giant football field and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The library was one of the largest rooms in the school, filled with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and the latest in computer technology. Jennifer and Nancy spent most of their time on the library instead of the student lounge, which was located next to the football field.
Jennifer was described as a fluttering butterfly with green eyes, long brown hair, and cream-colored skin while Nancy had blue eyes, neck-length blond hair, and ruddy skin. Both girls were wearing the traditional academy uniform that consisted of a red sweater and a blue plaid skirt.
Very soon, their friends Maura Paltrier and Oriana Harrell came and joined them. Maura had light brown skin, brown eyes and brown hair; she had come from a mixed family. Oriana, however, had the odd coloring of light amber eyes, thick, curly, amethyst hair, and light-colored skin. She was shorter than most of the high school population.
Oriana and Maura had been trying to start a band for several weeks now since they learned about the Grammy-winning R&B band called Bronze Lagoon, which consisted of five 10th graders from MLK High School in Jackson, Mississippi. The band had recently been featured on the show America Wants Talent. Both of them were already debating whether to use traditional instruments against the benefits of having an actual instrument in their hands.
Jennifer said to them, “No such luck?”
“None,” said Maura as she plopped down in her seat. “I tried asking around, but no one was interested.”
“In fact, one kid said he’d rather go live in some hovel in Romania than join me in the band,” said Oriana. “I can’t believe that he had the nerve to say that to my face!”
“How despicable,” said Nancy as she looked up from her homework. “He has no soul.”
“Speaking of which,” said Jennifer, “Laurie Frost and Rae Morgan got into a fight shortly before you came.”
“You’re kidding, right?” said Maura. “What happened now?”
“Apparently, Laurie had written some lie about Rae on Jabberstorm and Rae found out about it,” said Nancy. “Isn’t that sad?”
“How said,” said Oriana. “I know Laurie; she’s in my math class. How can someone like her be so brilliant and yet, so stupid all at once?”
“Who knows?” said Jennifer. “When last I checked, Laurie has issues that have prevented her from doing or saying anything nice about people.”
“Don’t sugarcoat it, Jen,” said Nancy. “Laurie is a bully and you know it.”
“Indeed,” said Maura. “They used to say this line: “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” I could be wrong, but that’s what they said.”
“That’s a lie,” said Oriana. The other girls glared at her. “You do know of what happened in a town called Littleton, Colorado, don’t you?” Oriana was an avid reader and made sure that not a day went by when she wasn’t reading anything. She was known to be the school’s unofficial news reporter. She continued, “The Columbine High School shooting happened because some kids decided that they would make fun of other kids. Those kids got their hands on some guns and shot up the place. 12 students and a teacher died as a result of some kid’s stupidity.”
“I’ve heard,” said Nancy. “We all heard. The principal told us about it last week.”
“But did he tell you of the nature behind the shooting?” Oriana snapped back. “Did he say anything about why we should never hurt people intentionally? I don’t know about you, but I know for sure that sticks and stones can break your bones; people can recover from those easily. But name-calling? You can’t ever get over that, not at all. It stays with you and each time someone insults you, it builds and builds until it consumes you and eats you up inside until you can’t take it anymore and wants to either kill yourselves or kill others. You can’t escape from the name-callers, no matter what you say or do.”
“So, you mean to tell me that our parents and teachers have lied to us?” Maura glared at her. “Are you implying that even one incident of name-calling is going to lead to another school shootout?”
“That’s what I said,” said Oriana. “I’ve seen it when I had gone to Harper Bay High School last year. On February 17, 1998, some girl brought a gun to school and shot into the crowd during a school assemble. So many good students died or were hurt. The sad thing is, though, it all happened because someone called her a “retard” and thought that it was funny. Let me be blunt when I say that nothing good will ever come from bullying and name-calling.”
“Oh, is that so?” Jennifer’s younger brother Addison said as he approached their table. Addison looked just like Jennifer; they had been mistaken for twins despite the fact that Addison was born 18 months after Jennifer was. He said to Oriana, “You mean to tell me that if we don’t watch it, there could be a school shooting here before someone could do something about it? You are definitely blind and stupid.”
Oriana glanced at him and said, “That kind of talk was what got Marcos Davis killed at Harper Bay High School. He was looking forward to being a newscaster here at the Miami News. We were friends and now he’s dead. What do you say to that?”
“I say you’re insane,” said Addison. “You befriend some retard who has no future and definitely no way to make his dreams come true. He was a liar and you know it.”
“You know nothing!” Oriana snapped as she glared at Addison. “Did you see the way those kids were trying to live their lives in that school? They may not be able to have what we have, but that doesn’t mean that they’re useless. You guys are so seeped into your rich lives that you can’t see the pain and heartache that plagues the regular high schools.”
There was a long silence that followed Oriana’s speech. A group of students who had overheard her were now talking about what she had said. Was she right, some of them thought to themselves. Was she telling the truth about what was true and not true about those regular schools? Would we be no better than the students at the school that was shot up because someone said something stupid to someone else?
“Uh-oh, here they come!” Maura cried out as two dark shadows filled the doorways of the library. Davina Castaneda and Shawnee Wenlock were storming into the library. Both of them played the part of the stereotypical black girls, with dark brown skin, short brown hair, dark brown eyes, and butts so round that not even the rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot would even sing a song about them. The two girls were two of the richest girls in the school (next to Jennifer, Nancy, and Maura), and they also were the biggest bullies at the school as well. There was not a single student at Gothanburg Academy who did not feel intimidated by the two girls.
Everyone but Oriana Harrell gulped and stepped back upon seeing the girls. Oriana had temporarily transferred to Harper Bay High School in the girls’ junior year for a term; and that term had seen one of the worst acts of bullying that happened in the history of the school. And not only that, there was the school shooting that left 100 students dead and many more students too psychologically damaged to continue their education. Oriana was among those who continued to attend Harper Bay High.
Davina said, “Well, well. No one wants to talk to me? How quaint. Shawnee, shall we go and beat someone up to make them talk?”
“We shall,” said Shawnee. “Now, who will be our newest victim?”
“No one,” said Oriana as she approached them. She was not afraid of both girls, and she knew exactly what to do and say whenever the girls came to harass someone. “I know you two are planning to harass yet another person, and you do know that fighting in the library is not allowed at all. Why, just five minutes ago, Laurie Frost and Rae Morgan had to be escorted from the library because of them fighting. I know that Laurie is one of your lackeys, is that true?”
“Well,” said Davina.
“Funny you should mention Laurie,” said Shawnee as she shook in her custom-made blue suede boots. “Why, the other day, she spread a rumor regarding my mother and the garden boy. Isn’t that sad?”
“Oh, did she?” said Maura. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that. Surely she could have had some manners and such.”
“Indeed,” said Shawnee as she glanced over at Maura. “And how is your mother?”
“Don’t answer that question,” said Nancy. She glared at Shawnee and said, “Don’t you have anyone else to annoy? Friends? Family? Dangerous predators? Just not us. I mean, haven’t you had enough of us to last you the rest of your life?”
“I have,” said Jennifer. There was no way that she wanted to talk to anyone like Shawnee and Davina. “Now if you please, go away now or else you’ll be taking a fist to your face.”
“And who will be giving out the first punch to my face?” said Shawnee. “You know that Davina and I are black and if you hit us, you’ll be expelled. You don’t want to get expelled, don’t you?”
“Really?” snapped a boy named David Hicks. “You’re just going to flaunt our race like it’s your personal shield? Like it’s going to protect you from someone’s righteous fists?”
“Well,” said Davina.
“For shame,” said David. “My parents didn’t build their wealth based on their race. They are rich because of good management and hard work.”
“Which is something that your parents haven’t done,” said Deanna Summers. “All they did was make up all those fake lawsuits that forced rich white people to give them lots of money.”
“Oooooohhhh,” everyone cried out.
“And besides, there’s no way that none of us are going to believe you,” said Lillian Caldwell. “You are going to get yourselves into so much trouble, they’ll be calling it Davina-&-Shawnee-gate.”
“Oooooohhhh,” everyone cried out.
“OK,” said Davina. “Not your best shot, but still, you think they’re going after us?”
“That’s enough!” Oriana slammed her history textbook on the nearest table, which got everyone’s attention. “I’m tired of your crap! Now, I’m giving you to the count of ten to get your ugly, lying faced selves out of here or else I’ll be putting my foot on your butts and kicking them repeatedly!”
“You would dare!” Shawnee snapped.
“Try me,” said Oriana as she put up two fists and aimed them at the girls.
Luckily for the other kids, Davina and Shawnee knew what was good for them and bolted from the library. As a rule, no one was able to intimidate Oriana Harrell. Not unless they were tired of attending Gothanburg Academy, that was.
At that moment, the warning bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch hour. The librarian came out and said, “Time’s up! Make sure that you log out of the computers and delete your browser history. Also, if you are checking out any books, please make your way to the checkout counter and I’ll assist you. Make sure to gather your belongings before you leave the library.”
Jennifer frowned; she hated having to leave the library just as she was in the middle of getting her science homework done. Sure she should have done it last night, but she had glee club and then the next evening, she would be having dinner with her father, Nicholas. She still hadn’t forgiven him for walking out on the family and shaking up with two different women, one of whom he was now about to marry. I don’t need this crap, she said to herself as she grabbed her things and made her way to history class. Hopefully, she could get her homework done there.
Nancy said, “Well, I do hope we can meet up tonight.”
“I wish,” said Maura. “The yearbook staff has a meeting today and I need to be there. We’re going to be covering Louie Browning’s latest play and since I haven’t had an assignment since the end of basketball season, I need something to do.”
“I can’t go either,” said Oriana. “I have to do some project for geography and then I’m on the geography team, so I can’t hang out with you guys much.”
Jennifer turned to Nancy and said, “Looks like it’s just you and me tonight.”
“Yeah,” said Nancy. “And to think that we were going to do something fun for a change.”
The girls nodded and then they all went their separate ways; Nancy went to Spanish class while Jennifer and Maura headed to history. Oriana remained in the library, as she was the library aide. At the beginning of the girls’ high school years, the principal of their middle school told the principal to keep the four girls separated. Jennifer frowned at the arrangement, as she knew that all four of them were a tight-knit group and as such, they were reluctant to let anyone else into the group. Several of the other students and teachers had complained that the girls were too isolated from the school and tried to get the girls into separate classes and force them to make new friends and forget each other.
But the friendships didn’t last long and the Fab Four always found a way to get back together. They had to be friends. Ever since Jennifer’s parents divorced and Nancy’s father was unceremoniously shoved to a small room in Motel 8 for a scandalous affair, the girls had to rely on their friends to help see them through.
Boring didn’t begin to describe Jennifer’s next class. She hated having to sit through a useless class that was filled with an uninterested teacher and students who were too dumb to learn anything. She also did not care to hear about stories of the past, even if every story had a grain of truth to them. There are few things more terrifying then having to hear the dark secrets regarding the founding of the city of Miami, Florida.
Besides, she was much too preoccupied with having to deal with her father, Nicholas, and his upcoming marriage to Roxanne Stafford, who was known as Foxy Roxy at The Spider’s Web Saloon.
Jennifer objected to the marriage for several reasons, among which was her anger at the fact that her father was even getting remarried at all. Also, Roxanne had seven children by three different men, one of which had Down syndrome. Jennifer thought that Roxanne only wanted Nicholas for his money, money that had rightfully belonged to her.
It wasn’t that it was wrong; it was just that no man in his right mind should have even considered marrying a woman like Roxanne. Jennifer’s mother, Karen, had drilled into her the importance of saving herself for marriage and that having sex outside of marriage would diminish your reputation and have you wrongly labeled as a whore. Jennifer then thought about her aunt Alene Haeffner, who had had three children out of wedlock and those children were later removed from her and given to their fathers. Alene was later sent to jail for her “crimes against marriage”, as Karen had called it.
“Jennifer?” Maura poked her in the back with a pencil. “Pay attention! Claire Sheppard is about to give out yet another history lecture!”
Jennifer rolled her eyes; Claire Sheppard was the unofficial history genius at Gothanburg Academy. She was often seen at the library hiding in either the history section or the sci-fi/fantasy section. She always dressed in very frumpy clothes despite her rain-thin appearance.
“I wish that Mr. Golpalott would just tell her to shut up,” Jennifer snapped back, a lit too loudly. Everyone in the room stared at her. The girl in question approached Jennifer’s desk and said to her, “You got a problem with me?”
“Nobody cares about how much you know about anything,” Jennifer snapped at her. “You are such a stupid girl and you’re making the rest of us look bad. Plus, only the teacher is allowed to know about history, not you!”
The other students glared at Jennifer, and she felt that their eyes had turned into daggers. Maura said, “Oh dear, you must have pissed her off.”
Jennifer said to her, “I’m tired of her smartness; she makes me feel dumb.”
“And another thing,” Claire snapped at her, “you think that just because you’re in the glee club that everyone is supposed to bow to you? You are such a stupid bitch who thinks the world revolves around her. FYI, the world doesn’t revolve around you, you atrocious throbbing hogspotter!”
She ran out the classroom sobbing as one of the other students chased after her. Another student said to Jennifer, “Well, I hope you’re happy; you’ve ruined her life! You’re nothing but a spoiled brat whose daddy is marrying a slut, so you take it out on everyone else!”
Jennifer stared at Lazaro Garner and said to him, “That’s nice, bro. Why don’t you go tell it to someone who cares even a little?”
Lazaro reached out and slapped her across her face, yelling, “I hope that some guy rapes you and cuts you into pieces, you vermin-ridden vacuous smegging bitch!!”
Jennifer didn’t bat an eyelash, but snapped back at Lazaro, “The best part about you is that you’re both mindless and hideous! That’s probably why nobody likes you!”
Lazaro was about to punch her in the face when the teacher intervened. He aid, “Now what is going on here?”
“This bitch here decided she throw Claire out the room and diss her,” Lazaro snapped at Mr. Golpalott. “She had some nerve to be putting her in her place!”
“You shut your lying-assed mouth!” Jennifer yelled at Lazaro. “And you’re just jealous that only action that your ever going to get is from your stuffed animals!” The other students laughed at Jennifer’s remark, all knowing that Lazaro still played with his stuffed animals at home.
Then, to Mr. Golpalott, she said, “I come here everyday to learn and be taught by adults and only adults! Not kids! Kids are generally stupid and they think they know everything! Claire was trying to be all smart to hide the fact that she’s a useless sack of filth! She needs to grow up and know that we don’t care for anything she has to say!”
“I see,” said the teacher. “Now, without further ado, I want you all to turn to page 475 and answer the questions that are at the end of the chapter. And to keep you kids out of trouble, you are to answer ALL of the questions, and I don’t want any short 1-word answers. I want at least three sentences in your answers. Also, if I see anyone in here writing “I don’t know” as one of their answers, the entire class will get an “F” on their report cards. Now, get to your work and I want to hear nothing but silence for the rest of the class period.”
As the entire class quickly pulled out textbooks and papers and set to tackle the homework, Maura whispered to Jennifer, “You just got lucky, Jen. He really was going to hurt you.”
“When will I learn to shut up?” Jennifer whispered back. “I can’t. Not when people like Claire Sheppard are trying to force their unnatural “smartness” upon a school that doesn’t seem to want it.”
“Are you mad?” Maura said to her. “It’s people like Claire Sheppard that makes sure that our school is the #1 school in the state. Sometimes, you think off the top of your head and you always speak without thinking.”
“People like her really shouldn’t be telling us what to do,” said Jennifer. “You know how it was when Oriana went to that other school and she saw people getting beaten up because they tried to be “smart” and stuff. We can’t have stuff like that happening here. We’re supposed to be attending a school filled with rich kids, the school that even the poorest kid hopes to get into, even though we both know it’s not ever going to happen.”
“I know,” said Maura. “Right now, you got to do some serious damage control before Claire starts spreading rumors about the conditions of the school...”
“Miss Warrington and Miss Paltrier, there is to be NO TALKING during the assignment,” the teacher said to them.
Jennifer seethed as she continued working on the assignment. How dare those kids try to undermine me, she thought to herself. It was bad enough that her father was marrying a woman that her grandparents and her didn’t approve of, so why should her school problems be thrown into the mix? With something like that, Jennifer really shouldn’t be having time to deal with school.
She frowned as she glanced at the calendar that sat next to the clock; there was only about a month and a half of school left, and with that came graduation and eventually college. Jennifer said to herself, “I really shouldn’t be bothered with this crap. It’ll be another month and I’ll be out of here for good. I say it’s time for me to go out with a bang.”
Going out with a bang indeed. It’ll take something big for her to get the edge that she needed. She wanted to leave Gothanburg Academy with everyone knowing that Jennifer Warrington was there. But she also felt that she should be going out quietly, like the most of the senior population.
How was she going to end her years at the school? Little did she know that Maura and Oriana’s secret plans were the answers to her questions… 
Chapter 2
For once in her life, Oriana Harrell was glad to be herself and not Jennifer, Nancy, and Maura.
She ha spent many years envying the girls and their seemingly easy lives and there was not a single day that had gone by when she did nit wish that she could be live their lives instead of the uncomfortable upper middle class lifestyle that she was accustomed to living. If only they knew about the life she was living, of course.
Oriana lived with her family in a part if Miami where most of the kids living in the neighborhood attended Harper Bay High School. The houses there were small, had a fairytale-like look to them, and most of them were in average condition. The interior is done in autumn colors. The yard is small and is neatly-trimmed. Also, Oriana’s house was one of the filming locations for a well-known comedy movie. That was before Eileen Neal brought a gun to the school and shot over 100 people dead. Oriana herself took her down before she herself could become a victim. The girl was now spending the rest if her life in a mental hospital someplace.
Oriana had gone home for the day after her class ended, since she had to prepare for the three classes that were offered to her only at Harper bay. The classes were digital art design, computer web design, and personal finance. She shook her head, wondering why she had to go back to a school that had allowed a girl to run around with a gun unchecked, unchallenged, killing random students at will. Oriana frowned as she changed out of her uniform and slipped on a dress. (she never liked wearing pants) She then grabbed her bag and headed out the door. It was time to face yet another useless day at Harper bay high school.
After history class had let put, Jennifer and Maura had dashed out the room before anyone could stop them. Maura said, “You definitely dodge a bullet there, Jen.”
“I know,” Jennifer said back as she ran through the halls of the school, hopping to put some distance between her and the classroom. “But those ding-dongs thing that we like to put up with other kids who think that education is a joke. Well, I’m not laughing, no siree bob.”
“I agree,” said Maura. “We came here to learn, not to play around. If we wanted to play, there’s a nice park for us to play in on the corners of name and name. But we’re not little kids anymore, so we need to let everyone know that.”
Nancy joined the girls at Jennifer’s locker. She said, “Sometimes I think the kids don’t have nothing to be proud of, so they invent these fake geniuses so that we could at least have someone newsworthy.”
“For shame,” said Maura, “and the sad thing is that people like Claire Sheppard who are such fakers get all the attention while people like Louie browning don’t get none at all. What a sad and shameful world that we live in.”
“Indeed,” said Jennifer as they headed towards the one class that they all had together, which was psychology. The one good thing about this class was that they all got to be together, albeit without Oriana. But the only drawback to that was that Davina and Shawnee were in the class with them as well, and they always seemed to fool around and pass notes while the rest of the class completed their assignments. Jennifer had once sat by Davina at the beginning of the school year and Davina always seemed copied off her homework. After one incident where Jennifer caught Davina looking at her notes for the movie Citizen Kane, slapped Davina with her Gucci handbag, Mrs. Atkins had separated the girls’ seats and Davina went to the back of the class while Jennifer sat in the third row in front of the teacher’s desk. Davina never forgave Jennifer for humiliating her like that, as if Jennifer hadn’t humiliated her all the years that they had attended the same schools.
Today, the class was analyzing the movie “Blinded By The Religion,” which had starred the three power actresses Jacquel Spartan (BEFORE she joined the Movie Characters and began criticizing Disney-Made movies), Candy Cane Brenner, and Andrea Muty (who is NOT dead in this story). Upon its 1998 release, that particular movie had many critics up in arms for its blatant disregard of Christianity and apparent acceptance of abuse against disabled teenaged girls. The three actresses were actually Christians and had to prove their Christianity before the critics and various churches.
Mrs. Atkins said to them, “What did pastor Argus mean when he said...” Then looking at the faces of the confused students, she said, “How many of you actually did the assigned homework last night, which was to read the scene where Mina Northill, Hazel Brookside, and Polly Beanblossom met with the pastor? If you did, then kindly raise your hands.”
About half the class’s hands went up; even Jennifer, Maura, and Nancy raised their hands despite the fact that Jennifer didn’t do any of it.
“Jennifer Warrington,” said Mrs. Atkins, “Do you know what pastor Argus meant when he said that either you choose life or death?”
Jennifer flushed as all eyes were on her. Even Davina and Shawnee were staring at her. She sighed before saying, “I think the pastor said that the girls basically had a choice: to either keep living their lives the way that they were living now and accomplish nothing or to make the irreversible choice to turn their lives for the better.”
“Very good, Jennifer,” said Mrs. Atkins. “Now let’s get another person’s opinion about this.”
A student named Lawanda Gray said, “Well, the pastor basically said that their should were doomed unless they were willing to give up their sinful lives and fully commit their lives to God.”
Several students snickered before Darren Fulton added, “The movie seems to introduced the concept of redemption, something that was lost as the critics tore apart the director and Jacquel Spartan, Candy Cane, and Andrea Muty for imposing their views on this largely secular society.”
“That is a good insight,” said ms. Atkins. She stood in front of her desk and said, “And to the rest of you who have yet to do their homework, I expect a 2-page essay over the pros and cons of the concept of redemption to be handed to me by tomorrow. Please begin.” At once, there was the rustling of papers as the late students quickly pulled out notebooks and pens and began writing. Davina and Shawnee laughed and said, “Like we’re going to do anything like that.”
“That goes for you two,” said ms. Atkins as she glared at the girls. “In fact, you owe me several months’ worth of extra homework.”
“Well, if you haven’t switched me and Jennifer’s seats, we shouldn’t be having this problem, or would we?” Davina snapped. “I was getting good grades before you sent me to the back of the class.”
“I say that the only reason that you got good grades was that you kept copying off my work,” said Jennifer as the class laughed. “You’ve been copying off me since the 7th grade and the teachers always had to send you to be back of the class. What did you expect? Me to help you? You’re just a bully, and in my humble opinion, bullies don’t deserve anything, save for a swat on the bottom and seven years in the iron hotel.”
At that, Davina stormed over to Jennifer’s seat. Jennifer began shaking, knowing that she was about to get the beatdown of the century. But before Davina could reach her, David Hicks reached out and grabbed her arm. “Don’t you think you’re kind of pushing it al little?”
“Pushing what?” said Davina.
“You’re always messing with Jennifer and her friends,” said David. “When are you going to let up?”
“Let up on her?” Davina snapped at him. “You think I’mma let the fact that she got me in trouble go?”
“She’s always getting you in trouble,” said Lawanda as several other students nodded. “You can’t get through one school year WITHOUT having her get you in trouble. I mean, you kept on getting detentions, suspended, even your momma kept coming into the principal’s office to deal with your crap. This is getting like real old.”
“Indeed,” said Maura. “I accidentally got your mail again yesterday, and it was from the Bailey Bennett Scholarship. The big man himself says that if you don’t shape up within the next few weeks, you’re not gonna graduate with the rest of the class.”
“Oooooohhhh,” everyone cried out as Davina flailed her arms in Maura’s direction. “You dare tell me something I don’t want to hear?”
“But it’s the truth,” said Jennifer. “You really need to shape up or else you’re outta here. Need I remind you why you’re still here despite the fact that you would have already been kicked out and locked up if you pulled the same crap at Harper bay?”
Nancy tugged on her friend’s sweater and said, “You’re in thin ice, Jen. Better shut up now while you’re still on top.”
“Well, do you have an answer for us?” said David.
“I think you’ll get your answer from her when she is assigned detention for the umpteenth time,” said Mrs. Atkins as she turned on the intercom that connected the classrooms to the front office. Within a few minutes, the school monitors came into the classroom and removed Davina as she kicked, screamed, and cursed. Shawnee was also taken from the classroom as a precaution. She turned to the other kids and said, “One day, y’all going to be sorry for this! I’mma hurt all y’all the way y’all hurt me!”
“That’s enough, Miss Wenlock,” said one of the hall monitors. “One more word, and you’ll be put somewhere where you’ll be locked up and never released.” Shawnee screamed as the monitor dragged her down the hall.
In the silk-screening lab, Oriana frowned as she was trying to actually create her design and ignore the chatter that was spreading around her like wildfire. She was especially trying to ignore Angelique Yang, who was bugging her about what life was like at Gothanburg Academy. Angelique was saying, “So do they like have dances and stuff like that?”
Oriana shook her head; she couldn’t even remember the last time the academy had an actual dance. As far as she knew, dances and many other activities were canceled the moment that Davina Castaneda and Shawnee Wenlock showed up. The student council simply decided that it was better to have no school dances at all than to have the two “bad girls” wrecking their dances.
“Well, we’re actually working on the prom right now,” she lied through her teeth. She knew that Cassandra Patrick and Dorothy Thomas, the two representatives of the class of 1999, weren’t even thinking about holding any prom at all, not with Davina and Shawnee still around. “But a few of my friends and I are throwing an anti-prom party on the same night.”
“Good,” said Angelique, “Because proms suck. They’re just nothing more than a drug-and-sex filled fest. We need realism.”
Oriana nodded and stared at her design. It was an open hand, a closed book, and claws within a triangle. She frowned and set the design aside. Already she had had a huge pile of designs next to her station. Angelique said to her, “You’re gonna have to pick a design sooner or later; you can’t just keep rejecting designs.”
“You can’t rush perfection,” Oriana snapped as she sat down at the computer and began sifting through designs that she had generated earlier that day. She was hoping to get her design ready so that when she and Maura formed their band, they would have had a design created for their potential band mates.
There was no way that Oriana was gonna fail now.
“I’m so sick of those two that if I have to spend another second with them, I’m gonna rip them to shreds!” Nancy snapped as they went to the student parking lot. School had ended with Davina and Shawnee having to face another detention. Rumors about them actually smacking both Jennifer and Maura were swirling around Gothanburg Academy like fire, and the students at the other high schools were bound to find out eventually.
“I know,” said Jennifer. “Can you believe them? They think they own the school and they’re exempt from getting beaten up. Just once, I wish that some actual black kid would beat them up and really break them.”
“That would be nice,” said a student who walked by them.
“I’m sure that Oriana is gonna tell someone at that crappy high school of hers,” said Maura. “And in this case, I hope that that person has a huge grudge against those two she-monsters and beats them up.”
“Yeah,” said Jennifer. “And what is the update about the band?”
“That’ll have to wait until tomorrow night,” said Maura. “We still need to create a signup sheet and figure out the songs. I know I have a good head for writing, so I’ll write the songs...”
“Maybe your first one should be about how Davina and Shawnee are treating the kids here,” said Nancy. “They hurt other kids and yet, the other kids are the ones who end up getting in trouble themselves.”
“Indeed,” said Maura. “Now I’m off to the meeting; I’ll let you know what I come up with.”
Jennifer frowned as she and Nancy watched Maura walk off. The glee club was meeting today, but Jennifer wasn’t about to go. Not when she had a ton of homework to complete. The science teacher wasn’t in class today, which gave her just enough time to complete the homework and turn it in before school let out for the day.
Nancy said, “Jen, you need to get some help. You aren’t yourself anymore and stuff.”
“Not since the school karaoke club refused my entry due to me quitting the school orchestra and joining the glee club in our sophomore year,” said Jennifer. “In fact, the club president is considering having me banned from joining any clubs and stuff.”
“I remember when the school had all sorts of clubs, but they were shut down because Delbert Schmidt wanted to join,” said Nancy.
“I remember Delbert,” Jennifer laughed. Delbert had been a disabled student who once attended Gothanburg Academy in their freshman year, until his mother complained that none of the clubs would let him join. His father eventually pulled him out of the school and due to his position on the PTA, he had all clubs in the school districts banned. After the ban, most of the students sent Delbert death threats and even trashed his family’s front lawn. Jennifer was among those upset because her cartoons appreciation club was among the clubs that was shut down.
Even to this day, she hadn’t gotten over that.
“Dad wants me to quit the glee club,” said Jennifer as the girls walked across the parking lot and headed to Borders.
“Why?” said Nancy. “I thought you liked singing.”
“I know,” said Jennifer, “but last night, dad finally laid it on me. He really didn’t approve of me singing in the first place.”
“There’s always the choir,” said Nancy.
“That’s not the point,” said Jennifer. “Dad finally found out about me being in the nationals and now he took me aside and said that I was to quit.”
“Well, that’s harsh,” said Nancy. “But hey, I heard that community colleges aren’t so bad. You should try it.”
“Mom would totally hate that,” said Jennifer, “and I’m not about to hear dad go on a tirade about how he and mom didn’t raise me to go to any community college. It’s either university or nothing.”
“Indeed,” said Nancy. She shook her head, wondering how and why of all times Jennifer’s father had decided to intercede on her behalf. Her own father, Pierre, could probably care less about what she did with her life, as her mother, Claudia, took control of everything that the Lévesque family did in terms of business and finance. Nancy wasn’t sure if Claudia would let her talk to Pierre at all.
At the same time, Oriana and Maura were meeting in Maura’s house after the meetings at the school ended. Oriana said, “I just cannot get the right design for the band. No matter what I do, I cannot do anything right.”
“I see that you’ve been trying too hard,” said Maura. “You really don’t have much of a concept of designing.”
“I know,” said Oriana. “Why can’t I get it right?”
“Let’s get the rest of the members together and then we’ll do the designing,” said Maura. She pulled out a list of names of potential band members. Most of the names were crossed out and some had stars around their names. “I heard that Lola Thomas wants to be in the band, as long as we invite her best friend Keona Noble.”
“Is that even a good idea?” said Maura. “I know those two have been best friends since kindergarten, but do we really have to let BOTH of them in the band?”
“That’s the same thing that they were trying to do to us since we first entered Gothanburg,” said Oriana. “Haven’t you forgotten that they tried to separate us by forcing us into different classes, forcing us to make new friends, forcing us to forget each other. But the plan didn’t work and guess what? We’re still friends. So, what does this say about us?”
“It says that we are stubborn and loyal to reach other,” said Maura. “You knew we had to band together when Jennifer’s father and mother divorced two years before and when Nancy’s father was involved in that scandal a few months ago. As for the school trying to separate us, It was a terrible plan, one that came back to destroy them and the superintendent showed up and put his foot down, telling the principal that if he tried to involve himself in our friendship, he would be dismissed.”
“It is illogical to think that we can stop being friends just because we hang out with other people,” said Oriana. “As for Lola and Keona, well have to interview them. We’ve already conformed Heather Harding, so I guess all the positions have been filled.”
“Not all,” said Maura. “We need to do something with Jen and Nancy. Those two look like they’re gonna crack if we don’t do something about their problems. I know that Nancy’s father did a dumb thing and betrayed his family, but at least Nancy’s mom didn’t serve him divorce papers. And as for Jen’s father and his shenanigans, we’re beginning to wonder if he was unhappy being married to Jen’s mother.”
“I see,” said Oriana as she stared at the wall. There was no way that she and Maura were about to leave out Jennifer and Nancy. Those two girls needed some serious therapy. The musical kind, not the retail kind. But how were they going to convince the girls to join them when neither Jennifer or Nancy knew how to play a musical instrument, not counting Jennifer’s years in the school band.

“Well, I don’t understand that girl,” said Karen after Jennifer told her about the incident involving Claire Sheppard. They were having a very late dinner due to Karen ruining two pots full of soup. “I don’t know why she wasn’t sent to the special ed class after she pushed that one kid down the stairs last year.”
“Who knows?” said Jennifer. “But why does Claire HAVE to be with the senior class? She’s a tenth-grader for crying out loud!”
“She and Mayra Carney were part of some special program to get a child out of the special ed classes and bring them to the mainstream classroom,” said Addison as he strolled into the kitchen. “Like that’s gonna cure them of their craziness. Remember how a couple of years ago, Jen, Nance, and Maura taped up Mayra’s mouth because she wouldn’t stop talking it annoyed them to no end?”
“That’s enough, Addison,” Karen snapped at him. “I already told you not to go talking about that incident. Now, go clean yourself up and have some dinner. And this time, you better eat it instead of pouring it down the sink and then trying to fill up on junk food.”
“Fine, whatever,” Addison muttered as he went to the stove and poured himself a bowl of soup. Jennifer began to wonder how did my family come to this? Mom and dad no longer together and we’re acting like we’re no better than half the kids at Harper Bay, the ones who have divorced parents and stepparents they can’t even relate to without gagging. And Addison is quite unbearable. What is my life coming to?
Little did she know that things were going to take a turn for the worse...

Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
Trouble Brews For The Fab Four
Yesterday, the Fab Four was involved in a series of incidents that could possibly spell the end of their friendship (as if the outside forces of evil weren’t already trying to do that in the first place!). J.W. apparently got into a fight with C.S. and told her that no one cared to hear about how much of a historical genius that she really wasn’t. That automatically prompted a fight with L.G., who said (and I quote) that someone should tear J. to pieces over what she said to C. So, can we imply that C. and L. are possibly dating? Not if L. still plays with his toys!
In related news, J., N.L., and M.P. got into a fight with D.C. and S.W. for the umpteenth time. I am beginning to wonder why those two haven’t been sent to jail ages ago. I do hope that D. and S. are locked up or shot to death the next time they dare to cause a ruckus in class.
Plus, overhearing a conversation at Harper Bay High School, O.H. told some random student about the upcoming prom that is taking place in Gothanburg Academy and the anti-prom that will run on the same night as the prom. Doesn’t O. know that proms and other dances were banned the moment that D. and S. were allowed entry into Gothanburg Academy? What O. is doing is telling a huge lie that’ll backfire on her eventually.
What is going to happen to the Fab Four when they discover that they can never stay friends? Stay tuned for more details involving them!
Ta-ta for now!

Chapter 3
Jennifer dreamed hat she was back in the classroom. Only this time, SHE was the one on the receiving end of someone else’s insults Jennifer tried to fight back against the biting words, but the other kids snatched her and held her down as someone who looked suspiciously like Lazaro Garner and Claire Sheppard pounced on her and began beating her up. She tried to escape, but then she gasped in horror as what appeared to be her skirt was being ripped apart from her waist.
“No! Stop! Leave me alone!” she cried out, but no one could hear her. They were too busy cheering for Lazaro; Claire was laughing as she pulled out her video camera and began filming the whole thing. “How do you like being attacked?” she mocked. “You don’t. Well too bad for you, it’s time that you were taught a lesson...”
Just then, a thump was heard and Jennifer found herself falling out of the bed. She glanced at the clock; it read 3:30 AM. She had about 4 hours left before she had to get ready to face another tedious day at Gothanburg Academy. She was afraid to get up, yet she refused to go back to sleep.
With a sigh of defeat, Jennifer forced herself out of bed and went to her desk, intending to finish her homework. “It’s time for me to start focusing on the last few weeks of school,” she said to herself. She had been warned by Nicholas that if she didn’t quit the glee club and focus on her studies, he would refuse to pay for her college education. Plus, going to community college was out of the question, as Jennifer knew both her parents would flip their lids if she ever spoke of going down that path.
She pulled out her textbooks and forced herself to sit down and complete it all. There was no way she was going to fail now.

“Geez, Jen, you’re a little jumpy this morning,” Oriana remarked as she saw Jennifer literally bouncing off the walls at the library. “Whatever happened last night?”
“I did all my homework,” said Jennifer.
“Um, no duh!” Oriana snapped back. “But seriously, what is with you?”
“Well, I had a nightmare about yesterday,” Jennifer began, but Maura showed up, saying, “Were Davina and Shawnee in it?”
“No,” said Jennifer.
“Then it’s nothing to worry about,” said Oriana. “You seriously need to get some help. If you keep claiming to have nightmares that don’t have Davina and Shawnee in them, you’re gonna be messed up in the head.”
“I wish that were the case,” said Jennifer as the bell rang and the girls rushed off to class.

Never let it be said that Jennifer Warrington was a coward. 
She walked into her first period class and sat in her seat. The other students glared at her; they had all heard about what she had done yesterday. She ignored the insults and thought about how she was going to tell the glee club president that she was going to quit the glee club. So far, she could only come up with the excuse that “My father thinks that the glee club was a huge waste of time and he wants me to send more time on my homework, as I’m slipping down to a C and my parents don’t want me getting anything less than an A.”
Well, that wasn’t exactly true, but Jennifer needed a good excuse to get out of the glee club. So far, every excuse she could come up with didn’t work. What was she to do?
Jennifer knew that Mrs. Sutton, the school activities coordinator, would be furious if she found out that Jennifer was leaving the glee club. To be fair, she was angry when she discovered that Jennifer had joined the glee club and ordered her to leave the glee club and join the marching band instead. Yet, Mia Goff, the leader of the glee club, had forced her to stay in the glee club and not to leave at all. 
The price of quitting the glee club was so much more than what she was willing to pay. 
When class let out, she went searching for Nancy. She hadn’t seen her since last night, when they talked about their father issues. Nancy stood at the door to the office. She noticed Jennifer and said, “no such luck?”
“No matter what excuse I can come up with, it isn’t gonna work,” said Jennifer. “What am I to do?”
“Why don’t you put it in writing,” said Nancy. Jennifer glared at her. “Let’s forge a letter from your father saying that you can’t be in the glee club anymore. Since we have computers, we can just type it up and then forge his signature. No one will ever know.”
“This is a bad idea,” said Jennifer, “but it’s worth a shot.”
Since both girls were office workers during their second period, getting access to a computer was easy, as there was a section of the office that was reserved only for student workers. No teacher was allowed there. Jennifer and Nancy quickly logged in and typed up the following letter:
“To Mr. Monte Valenzuela, 
“Please excuse my daughter, Jennifer Warrington, from attending the glee club meetings, as I have noticed that because of your scheduling of glee club events and your demands that she attend competition every weekend, her grades are slipping and she is in danger of receiving a D in all her classes. I would also suggest that the next year, you will cater to the school’s demands that the students put their education first and the glee club second.
“Sincerely, Nicholas Warrington”
Nancy smiled as she printed out the letter and Jennifer signed it. They then slipped the letter into an envelope and put the envelope among Mr. Valenzuela’s other mail. Just then, Mrs. Crossway, one of the secretaries at the school, showed up and said, “Here’s the daily mail, ladies. I know that there seems to be more junk mail than legitimate mail, but please sort it anyway and let them deal with it.”
Nancy and Jennifer nodded and bent to their task.

Oriana and Maura had English class with Heather and Keona, which was easy for them because they could do the interview without having to cut into lunchtime. The other girls quickly snatched the paper that had a list of questions on it, such as:
What instrument do you play?
How long have you been playing that instrument?
What is your favorite type of music?
Who are your favorite music artists?
How many hours do you spend listening to the radio?
Oriana also wrote down her plans for the anti-prom that she was secretly planning at the school. But what was an anti-prom and how do you organize one, she thought to herself. She knew that there was no way that the student council would allow the prom to happen.
She had seen the student council almost pull the plug on the theater and sporting programs, but they relented when the parents of Gothanburg Academy students protested. The music and arts programs were severely limited, as was the English and math/science programs.
So if dances were out of the question, how am I to organize one, Oriana thought to herself.
Maura poked her in the back and said, “I’m sorry if they harass you for talking about the prom.”
“I’m not about to end my school years without a dance party,” Oriana hissed back. “And if we can’t have a prom at the school, then I’ll have it in my backyard. It’s big enough for 100 people, plus a band.”
“Our band,” said Maura.
“Indeed,” said Oriana. “Our band. So, I hear that you got the questionnaire back from Lola.”
“She’s in my first period biology class,” said Maura, “and since Mrs. Etchingham made us partners, it was so easy.”
Oriana nodded as she saw Heather and Keona passed her back the questionnaires just as the teacher was about to speak about the homework assignment, a class project that was based on the life of an author whose works were published before the year 1990. Maura frowned; she hated projects and reports. She could never exactly do the proper research and more often than not, had to recruit Oriana to help her with the research.
“I can’t believe that I got Toni Morrison,” said Maura. “What do I know about African American authors?”
“Well, I got Sylvia Plath,” said Oriana, “and I’m against authors who commit suicide. I’m gonna switch.”
Maura shook her head as she examined Heather and Keona’s answers to her questions. Oriana was at the desk, arguing with Mr. Puckett over the absurdity of her doing her project on a suicidal person. She had come to believe on her own that her birth mother had taken her own life, a fact that wasn’t lost on her despite the fact that everyone that she knew told her that her mother was in a hospital somewhere in Minnesota.
Within a few minutes, Oriana came back, saying, “Well, at least Mr. Puckett sees reason. He re-assigned me J. R. R. Tolkien.”
“Good for you,” said Maura. “You do have the power of persuasion.”
“I know,” said Oriana. “How else am I gonna convince Jen and Nance that they need to join he band?”
“And persuade the school to let the class of 1999 have a prom?” said Maura. “You really should become a politician. You can convince people to do anything you want them to do.”
“Maybe I should,” said Oriana. “Politics is a dirty job, there are people out there who shouldn’t be in politics, yet they are, there are those who can do great in politics, and yet, they don’t get themselves involved. Such are the ways of our country and how it works.”
“Indeed,” said Maura as the bell rang, signaling the end of class. The teacher said, “You have 3½ weeks to complete the assignment. I suggest that you should get started right now.”
Maura cringed as Oriana led her out of the classroom. They had other things to worry about and yet, the end-of-the-year project was important as well as the band.

After third period came the 10-minute break.
Jennifer gathered her things and dashed out the classroom. She really needed to clear her head and come up with another plan. After the letter writing, Jennifer had attempted to line up a list of tutors, but discarded the list as soon as she realized that she couldn’t possibly hire someone who wouldn’t try to get her away from Nancy, Maura, and Oriana. She also thought about making up a fake report card to give some credence to her lies, but the school would know if the report cards were forged and she could get into serious trouble.
What am I to do, she wondered to herself.
Nancy saw her pacing in the library and said, “Would you please relax? It’s gonna be OK.”
“I know,” said Jennifer, “but if I leave the glee club and the activities coordinator finds out, I’m in trouble. You know I can’t graduate without being involved in an extracurricular activity.”
“Yeah, and that too,” said Nancy.
“Sometimes, I wonder what I was thinking when I listened to Mai Goff and dropped out of the school band,” Jennifer thought to herself. Although she stopped being in the school band, she still continued to practice her flute for 30 minutes daily. Her parents would ground her for life if she stopped practicing.
“I know,” said Nancy. “I should have warned you about her and the glee club. I should have sabotaged your audition.”
“If you did that, I would have hated you for a week, then we’d be friends again,” said Jennifer. “Why can’t I listen to my friends’ instincts when I know that they aren’t comfortable with whatever it is that I’m doing?”
Oriana and Maura showed up, with Maura saying, “Jennifer, please, just chill. We’re gonna get through this.”
“I hope so,” said Nancy. “We did have to fire off a fake letter from her father to the music teacher though...”
“You WHAT???” Oriana squeaked as the others tried to shush her.
“Not so loud,” Jennifer hissed. “If anyone finds out, they could tell Mr. Valenzuela and I could be in big trouble. You don’t want me in big trouble, do you?”
“No,” said Nancy.
“Well, I have a proposition for you girls,” said Oriana. Nancy and Jennifer stared at her. “I know that Jen’s out of the glee club and Nancy’s technology club was shut down in early April when Shawnee tried to join, but you two can’t graduate without being involved in an extracurricular activity.”
“Darn right we can’t,” said Nancy.
Just then, Elaine Schroeder came up to them and said, “Guess what? The music department has a new teacher and he’s trying to put together a band.”
“So what?” said Maura. “We’re trying to put together a band as well.”
“You girls should try out,” said Elaine. “Who knows?”
“Maybe,” said Nancy as Elaine ran away.
Oriana turned to the girls said, “darn. Just as I was getting to the good part too.”
“But it’s not a total loss, Ori,” said Jennifer. “You can still make this work. When and where are the tryouts?”
“Elaine stuck this in my band as she ran off,” said Maura as she held up a piece of paper. “It says, do you want to be famous? Are you musically talented? Are you considered to be the “life of the party”? Can you play at least one musical instrument? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then please make your way to the music room today at lunchtime and you’ll meet with Mr. Cristofer Cunningham.”
“Who is he?” said Jennifer.
“And why haven’t we heard of him before?” said Nancy.
“I’ve heard of him,” said Oriana. “He used to be part of the All-Knighters with Leilar Dara in the 1980’s.”
“Until Leilar was kicked out in 1994 for flaunting his bisexuality and saying that marriage was pointless and would soon be obsolete,” said Nancy. “Mr. Cunningham was asked to join the band in 1995, but he quit in 1996 after becoming a born-again Christian.”
“Well, I can only imagine that the band wasn’t too big on the Christian lifestyle,” said Jennifer, “and how did Elaine know that we were forming a band?”
“Maybe it’s featured on Jabberstorm,” said Jennifer. “We’ll check it out at lunch.”
As the girls chattered, Davina and Shawnee stood in a section of the school glaring at them. They weren’t too happy that their antics were published on Jabberstorm and the other students were giving them dirty looks. “We’re gonna get those bitches back for what they did to us,” said Davina.
“I agree,” said Shawnee. “They ain’t got no right to be doing this to us. We’re gonna mess them up real good.”
The girls snickered as a teacher approached them and said, “I don’t know what you girls are plotting, but you will not do it. Get to class.”
Davina opened her mouth to protest but Shawnee said, “Forget her, Vina. She’ll pay when those bitches do.”
Little did they know that Addison Warrington was watching them as well. He didn’t like them and he was tired of watching them harass his sister. He was going to make them pay for all the crap that was wrong with Gothanburg Academy...
Chapter 4
The bell rang once again, and Jennifer and Oriana went off to their geography class. Both girls frowned, knowing that they had Shawnee in their class, and the fact that Shawnee constantly interrupted the teacher during class was getting on their nerves.
Oriana reached into her bag and pulled a huge roll of duct tape. Jennifer stared at the tape and said, “You’re not gonna do what I think your gonna do, right?”
“Um, no?” said Oriana. “But I’m tired of Shawnee and her crap. You knew that we had to put up with her crap for the last 10 years and I don’t know why I haven’t done this sooner.”
“What? Tape up her mouth?” said Jennifer. “Are you sure about this?”
“You think I’m kidding?” Oriana cried out. “Not when our lives in this room are in danger.”
“I see,” said Jennifer. She had to laugh at the absurdity of it all. The fact that Oriana was planning to put tape on Shawnee’s mouth was quite stupid. Shawnee wasn’t known for being restrained; Oriana remembered when Shawnee had acted up during the third grade and she and Jennifer watched as the teacher had to call in the police and the swat team to take Shawnee out of the classroom. What had actually led to that incident was long since forgotten.
“This is a dumb idea,” Jennifer said as Oriana approached Shawnee, who was loitering near the door. Within 5 seconds, Oriana returned to her seat with a huge triumphant smile on her face. She said, “all I had to do was to sneak up on her and clap the tape over her mouth. Isn’t that great?”
“Yeah, lovely,” Jennifer muttered to herself as she watched Shawnee attempt to rip the tape from her mouth. “What kind of duct tape is that?”
“Extra strength,” said Oriana. “And now with Shawnee out of the way and no one else to interrupt Mr. Weil, we can finally have some peace and quiet around here.”
The rest of the students piled into the room and as soon as the bell rang signaling the beginning of fourth period, the room suddenly grew quite. Mr. Weil turned to face the students and said, “Well, well. This is a start. Shawnee Wenlock isn’t mouthing off. I smell something suspicious happening.”
“Nah, it’s just duct tape,” said Oriana. “I’d figured that someone needed to make her shut up. I’ve had enough of her crap and you should too.”
“I’ll say,” said Rae. “She can’t disturb us anymore.”
“I should have thought of that years ago,” said Jaime Wong. “I would have saved us years of trouble with that bitch.”
“What’s done is done,” said Mr. Weil. “We have to prepare for the geography bee, which will happen in two weeks. All those who are participating in the competition please meet me at the table. The rest of you, turn to page 484 and do question 2-16, which will be turned in at the end of the class period.”
Jennifer frowned as she watched Oriana walk off with a few students towards the table. Then, with a smirk at Shawnee, who was still trying to get the tape off her mouth, she went straight to work.
During fifth period, Oriana had taped up Davina’s mouth before the class could begin. Nancy said to her, “I heard that you taped up Shawnee’s mouth last period.”
“Yeah,” said Oriana. “To be honest, I wasn’t about to go through any more of her crap. It’s getting really old.”
“I know,” said Nancy. “If we could tape up their mouths everyday, then we’d have a better time.”
“Agreed,” said Oriana as the class began their assignment.
Jennifer sat in English class, counting down the minutes until it was lunchtime and she could go to the audition with the other girls. Most of the class felt the same way, as the teacher explained the assignment and most of them weren’t even paying attention. All everyone wanted to talk about was the audition and Cristofer Cunningham and the now defunct All-Knighters. Jennifer frowned as she had drawn up Anne Rice and tried to switch with another student, but was turned down.
“My mom would have a cow if she knew that I had to do some research on Anne Rice,” Jennifer tried to explain, but the teacher ignored her. Jennifer stormed back to her seat, wondering why Oriana had the gift of persuasion and she didn’t. Besides, Oriana didn’t even have to do her assigned writer!
She sat there with her head in her hands, wondering why no one seemed to take her seriously. Jennifer wondered if the rumors about her dropping out of the glee club would end up on Jabberstorm most likely rather than not, it would happen. Everyone was going to find out that she was dropping out of the glee club and then there was nothing that the teachers or the principal or Mrs. Sutton could do that would stop Mia from finding Jennifer and tearing her into pieces.
I’m gonna need some serious help, Jennifer muttered to herself.
When the bell rang, it was lunchtime. Jennifer was among the first to leave the classroom and head to the library. There, she quickly logged onto one of the computers and went to Jabberstorm.com, where she read:
Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
Silence in the classrooms?
Well, it has finally happened. Someone who decided that they weren’t going to stand for D.C. and S.W.’s nonsense has taped up their mouths with duct tape. Not to mention that it was the extra strength duct tape as well. The girls can’t even get that strip off their mouths without some kind of skin removal, and I must applaud the brave student who decided to put an end to their mouthiness. Bravo for them!
Speaking of bravoness, I heard that the Fab Four, which consists of J.W., N.L., O.H., and M.P. are going to audition at the band thing along with L.T., K.N., and H.H., and with that, we tend to wonder, what are those girls going to do this time? Well, good luck, girls, and especially to J., who really needs to watch her back, as M.G. got a fake letter from your father saying that he wants you out of the glee club for good. We can’t have you hurt, or can we?
All I can say is that you had better pray that those girls actually make the team; it would be a shame to let 12 years of friendship go to waste, if you know what I mean.
Ta-ta for now!
Nancy stood over Jennifer’s shoulder and said, “We gotta get going now. Maura’s already gotten the rest of the group and Ori together and we’re in line waiting for you.”
“Yeah,” said Jennifer as she printed out the article and logged off the computer. She and Nancy then grabbed their things and rushed out the library an down to the music hall. There were at least 75 people standing around, just chatting and stuff. Some of them had already began deciding what songs they were going to play and others were gossiping about Davina and Shawnee. Sounds like everyone been on Jabberstorm and they read about what Oriana had done to them, Jennifer thought to herself. As usual, they could care less about her and her antics, just as long as Davina and Shawnee were aptly punished for their misdeeds. Most of the students at Gothanburg Academy despised Davina and Shawnee and they and their parents had tried unsuccessfully to get the girls expelled from the school. 
Maura noticed the girls and called them over, saying, “Jen, Nance, this is Heather, Lola, and Keona.” Jennifer frowned as she stared at the three girls. They were wearing long skirts, bulky sweaters, and thick glasses. In short, they were nerds. Nerds, she thought to herself. I thought we agreed that we would never associate ourselves with nerds. But how and why Maura insisted on having then with the group, she would never know. 
Heather had pale skin, short, wavy, light brown hair and blue eyes. Lola also had pale skin, mid-length, straight, blond hair, and gray eyes. Keona, however, had dark skin, long, curly, dark brown hair and green eyes. Heather was a bit taller than the other girls and slightly plump to boot. Lola was short for her 17 years while Keona was very tall, looking almost like one of those supermodels than a high school senior.
Keona appeared to be talkative while Heather and Lola were more reserved. She and Oriana had been making plans about Oriana’s fake prom and how they were going to pull it off. Jennifer joined the conversation, needing something to keep her preoccupied while banishing the nerves that were beginning to form inside her. She had never liked auditions and performing in front of judges always made her nervous. Very soon, Mrs. Sutton came out and, “Hello, and welcome to the auditions. I’m very glad to have Cristofer Cunningham here to teach music and to put together this band. Now, when I call your name, you are to go into the music room, where he will be and also, Mr. Riven and myself will be judging your act. Please keep your act PG-rated and make sure that it is under 2 minutes. We will be beginning the audition soon.”
Jennifer frowned, knowing that Mrs. Sutton would automatically dismiss her from the music world if she had gotten word of Jennifer’s fake letter to the glee club. Most often than not, Jennifer would be blacklisted, just like all the other kids who had joined the glee club when it first formed at Gothanburg Academy two years earlier. 
Within a few minutes, the auditions began. The students sat in the auditorium as the contest began. Most of the acts consisted of just one person, although groups of two or three were seen. And as predicted, anyone who had been in the glee club (and there were 30 out of the 75 people who auditioned) were dismissed immediately. Jennifer cringed as she knew what was going to happen to her. Glee club would most definitely be her career-ending injury. 
If it wasn’t so sad, it would have been funny. She watched as Mia Goff was told point-blank that she had no place in the music world and told to find another career in a different field. Mia screamed and said, “I hope that the band you do put together falls apart!” Jennifer and Maura glanced at each other and shook their heads. No one was going to make them fall apart, not if it can be helped!
When Mia was dismissed from the stage, almost everyone who were planning to audition had left the auditorium. They weren’t willing to take a chance on anything at all, not if it meant that their musical careers would end before they really began. Very soon, it was just Jennifer, Nancy, Maura, Oriana, Lola, Keona, and Heather left to audition. They were standing on stage, wearing looks of confusion on their faces as they saw Cristofer Cunningham, Mr. Riven, and Mrs. Sutton sitting at the judge’s seats.
Mrs. Sutton noticed Jennifer and said, “Jennifer Warrington, I can’t believe it! You dropped from the glee club for this?”
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I couldn’t afford to pass up,” said Jennifer, but then she said, “Did I just say that? Wait. My father made me quit the glee club because he wanted me to audition.”
“Indeed,” said Mr. Riven. “Seeing as most of the students here suddenly dropped out of the audition, looks like you girls win by default.”
“Not yet they don’t,” said Cristofer Cunningham. Everyone stared at him. “I came to hear some singing. But everyone left before the singing could begin. Can you girls sing?”
“Jennifer is a great singer, did you know that?” said Mr. Riven. Mrs. Sutton nodded in agreement and said, “Jennifer, can you enlighten us with a song?”
Maura said to the girls, “All right, let’s go up there and act like we can actually perform.” The girls agreed and rushed to their instruments, picking them up as Maura said, “We’re the Magnificent Trophy and we’re going to perform a song called “The Green Moon & the Plastic Bracelet”, which was done in the style of Grease The Musical.” 
“Let’s have at it then,” said Mrs. Sutton. “Hopefully, it’ll beat out the glee club’s performances and maybe make the other students wish that they hadn’t dropped out in the first place.”
The girls began playing as Jennifer sang the following lyrics:
The Green Moon & the Plastic Bracelet by Magnificent Trophy
“Green moon, you saw me thinking alone, / Without a dream in my heart, / Without a diamond ring of my own
“Green moon, you knew just what I was there for, / You heard me saying a prayer for, / A diamond ring I really could care for.
“And then suddenly appeared before me, the only one my arms could ever hold. / I heard somebody whisper ‘hocus pocus’ / But when I looked, that moon had turned to a plastic bracelet!
“Oh oh oh...
“Green moon, now I’m no longer alone, / without a dream in my heart, without a plastic bracelet of my own.
“You better shape up, / ‘Cause I need a real man, / and instead I got a fake loser boy. / You better shape up; / You better understand, / To my heart you must be true. / And this fake loser boy and me are through!
“We go together, / Like Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker, / Like Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter. / Remembered forever, / as smelly smelly smelly manky-manky boom de boom de boom.
“Well - a well - a well - a huh... / Tell me more, tell me more, / Will I go to heaven or to hell?
“Tell me more, tell me more, / is the plastic bracelet a joke?
“Tell me more, tell me more, / Where is my sodding diamond ring?
“Thinking dreams ripped at the seams, but oh those thinking nights!”
When the song ended, Jennifer looked at the judges. Their jaws were on the floor. several students who were wandering around in the music hall had stopped to listen to the song. They all stared at the band with strange looks on their faces. Jennifer turned to the other girls and said to them, “Uh, what just happened here?”
Maura frowned; she was half expecting some form of applause from the tiny audience. “What is wrong with them?” she hissed in anger. “Have they no taste?”
“They probably wanted Mia and not you, Jen,” said Nancy. “But they also saw Mia acting a fool on stage when she flubbed on her audition.”
“I know,” said Jennifer. “She told me that she was working on that song since she was 2 years old.”
“And if that doesn’t scream “DIVA!”, then I don’t know what will,” said Oriana.
Just then, Mrs. Sutton said to them, “That was rather...unusual, but nothing that I wouldn’t expect to come from you, Jennifer. Maura, the band name is an interesting one, but I don’t think it represents you girls very well.”
“The Magnificent Trophy is a good name, just not one that I would have for your band,” said Mr. Riven. “And the lyrics to your song are quite confusing. We’re going to need to work on your writing skills.”
Mr. Cunningham stood up and approached the stage. The girls took a very close look at him. He had large brown eyes and dark brown hair. He was tall and thin, had pale skin, and a distinguishing mark on his right eyebrow. He was dressed slightly modest than most of the students at the school.
He said, “Well, not bad for your first try. This act was quite rough around the edges, but there’s nothing that can’t be improved.”
The girls all squealed with delight; they had no idea that they would actually get this far. Everyone else shook their heads and walked away, thinking “This has got to be a joke. There’s no way that the Fab Four are gonna succeed. They ain’t gonna be friends for much longer.”
Jennifer glanced at the door and saw Mia Goff glaring at her with jealousy and anger. How dare she steal what has supposed to be my dream! Mia thought to herself. I’m gonna make sure that she pays for this travesty! Jennifer shook her head, knowing that she had seen Mia’s meltdown and the fact that it was also witnessed by scores of other people and it could be featured on Jabberstorm.com would irrevocably destroy Mia’s Broadway career for good.
She was insane to think that she could best me at something that I’m good at, Jennifer thought to herself. I always knew that she always wanted to be a Broadway star and had to push aside other people who could have been better than her just to get there, but I somehow ended up being the nail in the lid of the coffin of her dreams. How did this happen?
Mrs. Sutton said, “Ok, girls, Mr. Cunningham would like to meet with you tomorrow to go over the plans that he has for you. I would say good luck, but that’s silly. you girls should be lucky to have each other as friends.”
Within a few minutes, Jennifer and the others walked out of the auditorium and straight into the hallway, where everyone gave them blank stares. No one had expected them to succeed, let alone topple Mia. Jennifer knew that as far as she was concerned, Claire and Lazaro would try to use this against her, but she wouldn’t let them succeed.
For now, she was content to have her victory.
Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
The Tryouts to End All Tryouts?
Looks like J.W., N.L., O.H., and M.P. have done it! They managed to beat out 75 other people for the coveted role of being a rock band. congrats, girls!
Speaking of the auditions, most of the students who were going to try out for the part ended up bowing out when it was revealed that M.G. and several other kids from the glee club were auditioning as well. Their attempts to actually sing something original leaves much to be desired, and that’s coming from M., who had wanted to be on Broadway since she was a toddler. Better luck next time, M.!
Speaking of which, click on shocking new videos to see M’s reaction to when she was rejected. If this Broadway thing doesn’t work for her, she could move to Hollywood and take up acting. That girl can really wail when she has to.
Also, you have got to see the Fab Four and L.T., K.N., and H.H. and their attempt to do a medley of songs based on Grease the Musical. I guarantee you that it’ll knock your socks off! But we know that they could use some improvement, as J. flubbed a bit on the words and the girls can barely carry a tune, let alone play an actual instrument. Come on, girls; just because you can play it on the synthesizer doesn’t mean you can actually play it in real life.
So what does this tell us? I think things at Gothanburg Academy are about to get interesting. With J. out of the glee club and in an actual band, let’s hope that she can succeed where M. failed.
Ta-ta for now!

Chapter 5
When Jennifer and Maura reached their history classroom, everyone unexpectedly cheered them on. It seemed that no matter who it would be, at least it wasn’t the diva Mia Goff who got the part.
Notably absent were Claire Sheppard and Lazaro Garner, both of whom had somehow decided to cut classes that day. Jennifer shook her head, knowing that they were probably somewhere in the school, plotting revenge against her and Maura for their anti-smart ways.
As for Oriana, when she opened the door to her classroom at Harper Bay, she wished that she had had time to speak to Maura about the band’s design. Luckily for her, the teacher wasn’t in today, meaning that the class had to meet in the library. So much the better, Oriana said to herself.
But what of the girls, who are probably dealing this unexpected fame, she thought to herself. Oriana hoped that none of the kids at Harper Bay High School found out about her auditioning for the band. that would be too much for her to deal with right now, and she preferred to keep her life at Harper Bay separate from her life at Gothanburg.
As for Jennifer, history class was a breeze since Claire wasn’t around to give out any of her “smart” remarks about the given subject that the class was learning, and Lazaro would be getting detention for smacking Jennifer, even if she did express an popular but unsaid opinion about Claire. When she and Maura joined Nancy for psychology class, they noticed that neither Davina or Shawnee had been able to get the tape off their mouths. Oriana had done her job well. a bit too well, if it was to be said.
“How did they eat?” said Maura.
“I don’t know,” said Nancy. “Remember when we taped up Mayra Carney’s mouth when we were in the 8th grade because she kept talking to her imaginary friends?”
“We had scotch tape back then,” Jennifer reminded them.
“I know,” said Maura. “Oriana was so mad at us for taping Mayra’s mouth and she didn’t speak to us for a month. Not only that, we had to write Mayra an apology letter…”
“…which she promptly ripped up, in front of the teacher, principal, and all our parents, no less,” Jennifer cut in.
“Well, whatever it was, the damage was certainly done,” said Nancy. “Mayra didn’t speak for the rest of the year, not even when the tape came off her mouth.”
“I know, right?” said Maura. “But as for those two, they deserved what they got. Nobody’s gonna take pity on them at all.”
She was right, as they all turned to observe the class laughing and insulting the girls, and the girls not being able to talk back or defend themselves. Soon, Mrs. Atkins came into the classroom, saying, “All right kids, settle down.” The entire class took their seats. “It appears that Miss Davina and Miss Shawnee have been silenced, so they will not be participating in today’s class discussion. Instead, they are to write these lines: “I will NOT interrupt the class” and they will write the lines until the class ends.”
“Why are you making them do this?” said Maura.
“That is what they once did in the old days,” said Mrs. Atkins. “As for the rest of us, we will continue the discussion of redemption and whether or not it would have worked in the girls’ favor.”
At the same time that Jennifer, Nancy, and Maura were dealing with a taped-up Davina and Shawnee in class, Claudia Lévesque (hoping to at least garner some sympathy for herself and spur hatred for her husband, located all of Pierre’s love letters to Sylvester Pittman and began posting them on her new blog, aptly titled “A Scorned Woman”. Claudia knew that Nancy hadn’t given up on Pierre, as their older children had done, so she hoped that the letters would paint a very nasty picture of her father, which would sicken her enough to disown him.
She wasn’t alone, as she was helping her friend Karen have her former husband’s fiancée deported to another country. It mattered not where she came from, but Roxanne Stafford had to go. “It was already bad enough that Nicholas had to father those two little boys with that woman,” said Karen as they sat in Claudia’s gazebo, “but to marry that skinny bitch and not the mother of those little boys is just the worst thing that he has done.”
“Not exactly,” said Claudia. “Remember when he tricked Pierre into investing in that stock that suddenly shrunk overnight?”
“I know,” said Karen. “It took us five months to track down the money and make the people give it back to him. That was for when Pierre exposed Nicholas as being the father of Darrell and Terence.”
“And things would have been better had Pierre kept his mouth shut and let those little boys and their mother fly under the radar, so to speak,” said Claudia. “As revenge, Nicholas chose to release this piece of scandalous news. I’m angry with Pierre, which you already know, but I’m even angrier with Nicholas for even exposing it in public. We could have deal with it and paid the other man some money to go away, but now we can’t. What are we to do?”
“We can raise money and use it to pay Roxanne to go away, perhaps to another country or whatnot,” said Karen. She smiled smugly as she said, “Our girls don’t need this drama in their lives right now. They really need to focus on graduation and college; not that there can’t be a distraction here and there. Jennifer needs something other than that glee club to keep her focused.”
Just then, the doorbell rang, and then Addison came home from school. He said, “Jen’s gone to Maura’s place and Nance is with her…”
“Good for them,” said Claudia. “They need their friends.”
“…only because Maura has to leave her mother and stay with her dad, who lives in the penthouse a few blocks away from the school,” Addison finished.
“Oh my,” said Karen. “I wonder what Susan has done this time, not that we don’t know already.”
Claudia said, “I’m going to go check up on her. You coming, Karen?”
“Indeed,” said Karen. To Addison, she said, “Make sure to complete your homework and don’t waste too much of your time watching TV or playing video games. I’ll be back with your sister in a few hours.”

At Maura’s house, Jennifer, Nancy, and Oriana stood around the living room as Maura complained, “How can they do this to me?”
“I don’t know,” said Nancy. “It’s like every time we seem to succeed at something, something else comes along and crushes our dreams. it’s getting old and tiring.”
“I know,” said Maura. “now Maisie and I have to go stay with dad, and to be honest, I’m not too big on staying with dad to begin with; not since he decided that he liked guys better and stuff and left us.”
“But doesn’t your grandma live in Tampa Bay?” Jennifer cut in. “You can go stay with her.”
“That would mean having to move away and leave you guys,” said Maura, “and I’m not sure if I can do that so late in the year. Plus, I do have to decide what I’m gonna do when I get to college.”
“You can be a family advocate,” said Oriana as she was sitting at the table writing some poetry. “I mean, you have so much potential. Plus, your own experiences right now can provide some fodder for this field of work.”
“I hope so,” said Maura.
Just then, Maura’s sister Maisie came into the room. She was about 13 years old and a bit of a spoiled brat. She said, “Maura, where’s mom?”
“I don’t know,” said Maura, feeling guilty about not knowing the answer to a question for the first time in her life. “I really don’t know what’s going on here.”
“Well, I hope mom comes home soon,” Maisie snapped as she went off to her room.
“Well, that sucks,” said Oriana. “Your sister acts like a spoiled brat when she doesn’t get her way.”
“I know,” said Maura. “I’d like to know where my mom is.”
“So do I,” said Claudia as she and Karen walked into the house. “Do you know where your mother is?”
“No,” said Maura, “and I was given a warning to leave this place and relocate to my dad’s place immediately. If I don’t, Maisie and I will end up in foster care and I really don’t want to go into foster care at all if I can help it.”
“No, I won’t let you go stay with your father,” said Karen. “He’ll try to force you girls to accept his new way of life and I won’t have it at all. But how and why they want you out of your house is a mystery.”
“Who knows,” said Maura.
At that, Maisie showed up in anger, saying, “But I don’t want to stay with dad!”
“No, you won’t,” said Claudia. “In fact, we’re going to go down to the police station and find out what’s going on here. There are better ways to handling things than sending you two to stay with someone that you despise.”
“Now, grab your things, girls, and I’ll take you home,” said Karen. “Jennifer, your brother is already home.”
“Indeed,” said Jennifer as she frowned. She never liked staying at home with her brother at all, if it could be helped. Sometimes, she would force herself to stay in her room for the time that her mother was out, leaving the maid in charge of her brother.
“Oriana, your mother says that she had decided to step out and since your father’s away on his business trip, you’ll be staying with Nancy,” said Claudia. “Maura, I’m not sure about what to do with you or your sister right now, but I can’t let you stay with your father. Nancy’s father is a lawyer and he can make it so that your father never gets custody of you two.”
“Now, let’s leave before the deadline ends,” said Karen as both women shooed the girls out of the door.

Being the typical high school sophomore, Addison Warrington didn’t listen to his mother.
As soon as Karen was gone, he rang for Mary to bring him as many snacks as reasonably allowed and turned on the TV. He frowned as he had to focus on how to get out of doing his world history project with Sam Castaneda, who was Davina’s younger brother and one of the most despised students in the tenth grade. Jennifer would surely blow her stack if she knew that her brother had to work with Davina’s brother.
Addison laughed at the TV while gobbling down Junior Taffy’s, Peanut Crèmes, and Raspberry Bites. he did do the rest of his homework, but it was during science class, which (to him) was the boringest class in Gothanburg Academy. Even the teacher, Mr. Dorrit, wasn’t too happy being the school’s only science teacher. Addison found himself wondering how and why he even chose that class in the first place.
Very soon, he could hear the garage door opening. he knew the jig was up. Addison quickly clicked off the TV and threw away all the candy wrappers in his room, making sure to hide the evidence of his laziness. He then opened up a textbook and pretended to be studying as Karen, Jennifer, Maura, and Maisie walked into the room.
“Looks like Jen’s having another sleepover and I’m not invited,” he muttered to himself as he glanced at Maura.
“Not this time,” said Jennifer. “Maura and her sister are staying here for a while.”
“Indeed,” said Addison as he shook his head. “If you all decide to invite me, you know where to find me.” He then went off to his room.
“Well, isn’t this nice,” said Jennifer as she watched her brother walk away. “He still hasn’t forgiven us for having that party when he had the chicken pox.”
“indeed,” said Maura as they walked to Jennifer’s room. “I hope Nancy’s dad is actually still alive; I hate to be him when Nancy’s mom comes to him asking him to make sure that some gay guy is never allowed to have his children with him.”
“Yeah, what a travesty, seeing as most of the city thinks that the so-called “gay affair” that Nancy’s dad had wasn’t even real,” said Maura. “If only she knew the truth.”
“The truth will come out eventually,” said Jennifer. she quickly logged onto Jabberstorm.com and scrolled down to the newest story: 
Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
Where is Claire Sheppard?
Yesterday, C.S. got into a fight with J.W. and things quickly got ugly. No one has seen her since. C., if you’re out there, J. says that she’s sorry for putting you down and wants to meet you at Border’s this weekend.
Cheaters Beware!
Last week, the hall monitor caught P.L. and G.E. making out under the bleachers during the charity basketball game. And knowing that P. is currently dating H.K., things are gonna get real ugly fast. Well, the hall monitor knows who’s dating who, and she’ll gladly inform the school of the cheating. P., you better watch your back; if H. finds out about this incident, they’ll be scraping your awesome guts off the bathroom walls.
Showdown at the Library
While the Fab Four were busy getting their sing on today, K.S., D.C., and S.W. got into the mother of all fights. Well, in K.’s defense, she was pretty tired of D. and S. making fun of her short haircut, which I think looks really cute on her. Apparently several of the other students thought so, as they jumped into the fray. The librarian broke up the fight and looks like D. and S. are totally banned for the rest of the year and they have to turn in all their library books, including their school-issued textbooks. Well, the girls had no comment.
So, what else is going to happen at Gothanburg Academy? Tomorrow looks to be a bit promising, as far as the Fab Four are concerned. Ta-ta for now!
After reading the articles, Maura shook her head and said, “Are you nuts, Jen? that isn’t like you.”
“I bet someone pretending to me did that,” said Jennifer. “I mean, Claire has annoyed me all year with her crap.”
“And all the crap that she pulled all though years that we’ve known her,” said Maura. “We really need to have a heart-to-heart talk with her. Something is up with her; she never disappears from the school like that.”
“Also, shame on Hayley,” said Jennifer. “She should have known that Philbert was cheating on her with Gondoline. But the hall monitor needs to go; anyone who likes to watch kids cheat on each other is sick and they need to be put away for a while.”
“And let’s not forget Kaitlyn,” said Maura. “I wonder if the hair was worth it.”
“It totally was worth it if she got the beatdown on Davina and Shawnee,” said Jennifer. “Anyway, let’s email this to Nancy and Oriana and get their take on this.”
After shooting off the email, both girls quickly began doing homework while making plans for the band. Jennifer said, “Sometimes, I wonder if this is a good idea.”
“What? Our music?” said Maura.
“It may be good for when we just want to entertain the school, but what Mr. Cunningham is talking about is the major leagues,” said Jennifer. “Also, do we really want to get ourselves involved with someone who is quick to dismiss us in favor of their religion?”
“Well, it worked for him breaking up the All-Knighters,” said Maura. Jennifer stared at her. “Well, last week, I saw this documentary about how the All-Knighters began as running counter to the pop culture of the 1970’s. Leilar Dara was the big cheese back then, willing to throw away his “White” heritage in favor of his Hawaiian roots. That’s what made the band so great back then. Btu when the 1980’s hit, they all left that behind when Leilar began singing songs with lyrics that were basically just cut out of other popular songs and remixed in a way that was entertaining and yet, disturbing.”
“Even disturbing was the fact that he sang that song about Michael Jackson getting beat up by Pepsi because Pepsi got jealous of him,” said Jennifer. “Even to this day, they still sing the Pepsi Beat Up the King of Pop.”
“Indeed,” said Maura, “but when our time came, the songs got darker and darker. Like the song that he sang about his wife, who was rumored to have abused their children and killed by one of them.”
“I kind of remember that song,” said Jennifer. “We had to learn that song for Domestic Violence Awareness Week last year.” She stood up and began to sing:
“And who are you to abuse your children and yet you say that you love them? / Are you so blind that you can’t see that they want you gone and gone? / My dear, my dear, why can’t you see that you are hurting them, you’re also hurting me? / I know you are unhappy, but tell me this: why you are hurting them?”
Maura stared at her and she said, “Well, that’s all I can remember, as Mia stole the rest of the song from me. Speaking of which…”
Just then, the sound of Addison laughing cut into the peaceful silence that was in the room. “I’m gonna hurt that boy,” Maura glared as the girls left Jennifer’s room and passed through the kitchen, where Mary was chatting with Maisie. Mary said to Jennifer, “Can you convince your brother to get a different hobby?”
“What? Like collecting toys?” said Maura. “We’ve already got one student being called a noob for doing that; we don’t need another one.”
Jennifer said, “What are you doing, Addie?”
From his room, he yelled, “Watching Mia Goff make a complete fool of herself on stage! Can you believe her? Plus, your song is so lame, not even Leilar Dara can resuscitate it!”
“Really? You think that the song is lame?” said Maura. 
“I mean, come on! You could have at least done a Weird Al song,” said Addison as he stepped out of his room and faced them. “Everyone likes Weird Al.”
“Yeah, but I highly doubt that we would have impressed Cristofer Cunningham with a rendition of Christmas at Ground Zero,” said Jennifer.
“You mean him?” Mary cried out. “That man who brought down the All-Knighters? You kids better be careful, as he can make or break you.”
“At least we don’t have anyone who blatantly dismissed marriage and family in our band,” said Jennifer.
“All the same, be careful,” said Mary. “He won’t be too forgiving if you don’t do what he says. That means that you’ll have to sing whatever songs that he wants and stuff. None of the other All-Knighters had wanted him in their band, especially when he became one of those “born-again” Christians. Plus, most of the fans of the All-Knighters were happy to see him go.”
“Indeed,” said Jennifer as she thought about the audition. In the real world, she wouldn’t sing a mashed-up rendition of any musical. It would never work, and no one would take her serious if she tried it while auditioning in Broadway.
But then, the phone in her room rang; she knew that it had to be either Nancy or Oriana calling her. Nicholas had gotten her a private number when she was in the fifth grade and her friends calling her was clogging up the phone lines. She picked up the phone only to hear this:
“You think you have it bad? Well, I can’t even set foot in the classroom without someone telling me to shut up! I wish I could kill her!”
“I never said that! All I said was that she could be a bit fickle at times and say mean things, but she’s no Davina or Shawnee.”
“So, can we sneak into the school at the crack of dawn and mess her up?”
“Maybe, seeing as she gets there before her friends do. She’ll never know what hit her.”
Jennifer frowned; she never liked getting prank calls and after finding out who sent her the call, she would humiliate them in the silliest of ways. Maura said, “Another prank caller?”
“I wish I could zap them on the phone,” said Jennifer. “That’ll save me the time to track them down.”
“Give me the phone,” Addison snatched the phone from his sister and said in a deep voice: “This is Principal Datchery and you two have been caught. Meet me tomorrow in my office at 7:30 a.m. and I’ll discuss your punishment. You should know better than to make prank phone calls to the school.” He set down the phone and said, “I hope you two learn to quit now that you’re ahead of the rest of the school.”
“We’re not gonna quit,” said Jennifer. “I mean, what do you want us to quit doing?”
“Quitters never win and winners never quit,” Maura said in turn. “And I don’t know who invented the term quit while you’re ahead.”
“Whatever,” said Addison as he left the room.
Jennifer and Maura stared at each other and thought that boy really needs a hobby; one that doesn’t involve us. But what do we do with him?
Little did they know that even if they did find a way to write better song lyrics and play their instruments, there was always going to be someone who wasn’t going to like them and find ways to bring them down. The question was, though, who would be loyal to them and who would be siding with Davina, Shawnee, and possibly Mia?
Even they didn’t know the answer to that question.
Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
Phone Prankers Busted!
Last night, J.W. received a phone call that detailed some pretty nefarious plans, plans that include beating her up whenever she isn’t seen with N.L., M.P. and O.H. Watch out, J.!
Well, the principal of Gothanburg caught the prankers who were planning this unprovoked attack on J. They answer to the names C.S. and M.C. I really hate to be them when the entire school finds out about the phone call.  
So, what’s going to happen to J. tomorrow? Wait and see. 

Chapter 6
It was now the next day, and Jennifer was ready to face yet another day at Gothanburg Academy. Only this time, she really wasn’t willing to deal with the sudden fame that came from her audition yesterday.
After overhearing a phone call which probably concerned her and how the two callers were planning to jump her, Jennifer decided that it was not best to take chances. She would have to not get to the school early for a while. She drove off in her blue Volvo and headed not towards the school but towards the mall. She had about an hour and a half before she had to get to her first class of the day.
Addison found himself wondering why Jennifer wouldn’t give him a ride to school and why he had to take the school bus. Brandon Darros and Cooper Simonelli both had siblings who were in Jennifer’s year and drove them to school, who why didn’t he? He planned today to blackmail Jennifer into driving him to school.
But as he passed by the principal’s office, he saw Claire Sheppard and Mayra Carney sitting in the two chairs that were in front of the principal’s desk. He could use this to his advantage.
He strolled inside the room and said to them, “Well, well, what have we here? Some stupid whiny wannabe and a girl who doesn’t know when to shut up? This is great. You do realize why you’re here, right?”
“Well,” Claire began, but Addison cut her off. “You think you’re an all-time genius, but let me give you some advice: they will never accept you in this society. Maybe as a performing money in a circus, since that’s how you act, anyway.”
Claire cried out, “You can’t say that!”
“Plus, you think you’re real smart, don’t you? Well, cut it out; you’re making the Asians look bad,” said Addison. Mayra glared at him and he said to her, “You still talking to Mr. Tickles, aren’t you?”
“Not since your sister and her friends taped up my mouth all those years ago,” said Mayra. “Now I can’t talk to no one unless they are real people. That’s what your parents and the teacher said to me and my mom.”
“So that’s why you’re so quiet,” said Addison. “You ain’t got no friends, so now you’re resorting to either shutting up or talking to stuffed animals? For shame. You should have been put away for good.”
“You’ve...you’ve no right to say that!” Claire screamed at him.
“Au contraire, but I can,” said Addison. “I’m not the crazy one around here, you are. Now do as I say and stuff or else I’ll publish your secret lives on Jabberstorm and no one will ever want to be your friend.” The girls gasped in horror as he continued, “And not only will I destroy you, but I’ll make it so that you won’t have a place in this society, not here or anywhere else in this country!”
“What about Australia?” said Mayra.
“Australia don’t want you,” he yelled. “In fact, they throw their crazies into the dingo pit! In Africa, they train elephants to step on their heads and smush them! But we can’t do that here, no way! They like it if people live, and some people live mainly to torment others! Wouldn’t it have been nice had we just simply kept tossing you crazies into the crazy house and threw away the key? Out of sight, out of mind, my grandpa always said.”
“I’m sure that they’ll figure that out eventually,” said the principal as he walked into his office. Addison said to him, “They deserve detention, I’m sure you can make up a good excuse without being too unreasonable.”
“Indeed,” said Mr. Datchery as he stared at Claire and Mayra. “I hope your lunch breaks are open for the rest of the week, as you’ll be serving them with the school counselor in my office.”
Claire and Mayra were aghast; they had never received a detention before in all their years of attending school, and they weren’t too happy about this now. “You can’t do that!” Claire cried out. “I demand an explanation for this!”
“You’re siding with him just because he’s normal?” said Mayra. “My father is the president of the PTA and if word of this reaches him, he’ll rip you apart!”
“But he’s too busy having an illicit affair with a hot young senorita to pay attention to his socially retarded brat of a child,” said Addison. And in a low voice so that the principal couldn’t hear him, he said, “I knew you two and Lazaro Garner were planning to jump Jen when she got to the school, and I for one won’t let you do that. Not just because she’s my sister, but the fact that the headline “Jennifer gets herself jumped by two crazies and a boy with no brain” isn’t exactly gonna be a big hit on Jabberstorm. So there you have it. And if you even try to intimidate Jen, I’ll publish the phone call on Jabberstorm and tell everyone to throw stinky old socks filled with rocks at you.”
The girls burst into tears as Addison grabbed his book bag and walked out the door.

“You would think she’d learn, after Ori taped up her mouth yesterday,” said Nancy. 
The other girls nodded; it was a full 24 hours after Oriana had taped up Davina’s and Shawnee’s mouths with duct tape. Jennifer saw them with pieces of duct tape on their mouths and said, “It serves you right!”
Davina opened her mouth and said, “You think you can just tape up my mouth? Well, you’ll be hearing from my momma!”
The hall monitor saw them and said, “You just earned yourself a week’s worth of detention! Now go to the principal’s office!”
Davina said out loud, “You’re gonna be sorry!” as the hall monitor dragged her to the office. 
Jennifer rejoined the others and said, “For shame. You think something this humiliating would mar her mood.”
“Not how we humiliated Mayra,” said Nancy. “But we also told everyone to harass her until she gave up her invisible friends.”
“Would that work with them?” said Maura. The girls stared at her. “I mean, they don’t have imaginary friends, but they do love bullying us.”
“Don’t be selfish,” said Oriana. “We’re not the only ones who have been bullied by those two.”
“Yeah,” said Jennifer. “I bet that almost everyone here has been bullied. I have my reasons to suspect that some of those they bullied are now the bullies. It’s a never-ending cycle of pain and intimidation.”
“Indeed,” said Oriana as the bell rang, signaling the end of the break and the beginning of classes. In all the excitement of seeing Davina and Shawnee without duct tape on their mouths, none of them thought to ask Jennifer about why she was late to school and barely missing the first period tardy sweep. 
At lunchtime, the Fab Four plus Keona, Heather, and Lola found themselves in the music room. They had barely had enough time to grab their lunches and check up on the latest gossip on Jabberstorm when Lola was sent to fetch them. Jennifer frowned, knowing that the latest news on the website was quite juicy indeed: 
Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
It’s an Ugly Affair
This morning, C.S. and M.C. were seen in the principal’s office, where they were tormented by A.W., who is the younger brother of J.W. of the Fab Four. From what was overheard, A. had discovered that C. and M. had plotted to jump his sister as soon as she got to the school. Luckily, J. didn’t show up until it was almost time for first period and Principal Datchery quickly put an end to their plans. He assigned the girls to having lunchtime detention with the school counselor. Well, not to say that C. and M. don’t deserve the detention, but surely those two have better things to do than to be messing with J., namely not being so damn crazy.
Speaking of which, D.C. and S.W. are up to their old tricks, seeing as the duct tape punishment didn’t work for them at all. Might I suggest that everyone in the school wear earmuffs? That’ll block out the annoying sound that these two---dare I say it---horses make?
Well, things are getting ugly now, but not to worry, I’ll be dishing out even more ugliness as the days go by. Stay tuned!
“You think they’re all sweetness and such, but on the inside, they’re really monsters,” said Mr. Cunningham. All seven girls were sitting in the classroom as Mr. Cunningham was explaining the rhetoric of life in a rock band. “There are some people who think that you are stupid and wasting your lives with your musical career and they will try to “save” you from the “evils of music” and force you to get a “regular” job. If Mick Jagger had listened to someone who told him that a career in rock music was pointless and he should be focusing on getting a real job, we might not have the Rolling Stones.”
“So, you’re saying that we shouldn’t listen to anyone and just do what we want?” said Lola. 
“Rock and roll isn’t just about the music; it’s also about turning your back on what society expects of you and following your dreams,” said Mr. Cunningham. “When I first broke into this business twelve years ago, I found out quickly that the music world will chew you up and spit you back out if you are not careful. Also, I learned that if you start doing things that infuriate the band, you’ll get kicked out the music world faster than you can say Grammy.” 
“Such as when you destroyed the All-Knighters and Leilar Dara?” said Maura. “Yeah, I’m sure that everyone applauded you back then.”
“Indeed,” said Mr. Cunningham. He never knew what he had done the moment he took over the All-Knighters. He had not only outed Leilar Dara as bisexual and had him banned from the music world for the rest of his life, but he had ultimately erased the band from existence by making up over 100 lies about several of the band members regarding their private lives and claims that they ripped off other musicians and didn’t pay them for the use of their music.
After the fall of the All-Knighters in 1994, Cristofer Cunningham was blacklisted by the Music Association of America and told to put his guitar away and to never join another band for 15 years. Also, the president of the MAA ordered him to undergo religious counseling and do community service in a high school.
“So, how do we get to where we are famous?” said Oriana, who decided to break the silence.
Mr. Cunningham mumbled to himself as he pulled out a videotape. He turned on the TV and said, “What you are about to see is what could very well happen to you. Most music stars don’t get the chance to break out, mainly due to them either giving up or people who claim to be concerned for them who end up destroying that person’s career. but for those who do make it big, they are subjected to not only fame, but ridicule, outright hatred, death threats, libel/defamation, and even the mother of all evils, also known as MAD magazine.”
Jennifer frowned as the title of the movie came on, which was called “The Dark Side of Fame: A Story About the Downfall of the All-Knighters”. She shook her head, wondering why the school hired the man who took down the famed rock band and completely destroyed one man’s reputation. She also thought about the man whose reputation was damaged beyond repair and the family who had to suffer because of his decisions. Jennifer thought to herself if I ever did anything as stupid as what Leilar Dara had done, would my family survive? 
She didn’t need to look far, as her own father’s stupid decisions had split apart the Warrington family almost to the point that he wanted to divorce his wife and marry the skinny bitch who was only after his money. Did he think about the children and mother that he had subsequently abandoned? And what of the two little boys who he had pushed away when he met Roxanne, which sent their mother into the hospital and eventually a sanitarium?
“Dad really needs to take a page from this book and apply it to his life,” Jennifer thought to herself. She knew that it was visiting day once again and she had some hard-hitting questions for him, such as why would he leave her for a woman who only cared for money and would sell herself for it? Did he even care about little Darrell and Terence? What kind of man was he turning into? 
Whatever the answer was, she wasn’t going to like it at all.

Within a few hours, school had ended and it was time for the kids to go home. Except Oriana was at Harper Bay and would be at the geography club meeting and Maura was working on a campaign to promote Louie’s play, which was a crossover between A Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. The play deals with what happens when characters from the two stories were to meet. Would they get along or would they all kill each other.
Jennifer and Nancy were left to themselves once again. 
Nancy said to Jennifer, “So be honest, where were you really this morning?”
“I was at the karaoke bar at the mall,” said Jennifer. Nancy stared at her; this wasn’t like her at all. In all the years that she had known her, Jennifer Warrington always got to school early every day. She would never show up even five minutes late. 
Jennifer then said, “I heard on Jabberstorm that Claire Sheppard and Mayra Carney were gonna jump me this morning.”
“Well, luckily Addison was there to stop them and report them to the principal,” said Nancy. 
“Those fools,” Jennifer said as she told Nancy about the phone call she had overheard last night and how Addison reacted to it. 
“Indeed,” said Nancy. “Who do they think they are?”
“They’re crazies,” said Jennifer. “I know they always talk of jumping people, but they never do.”
“Oh they do,” said Nancy. “Just not in public.”
“Anyway, I also heard that Lazaro Garner was also involved with them,” said Jennifer. 
“Indeed he is,” said Nancy. “But not to worry; he didn’t get too far. He’s still pissed about what you said to Claire, though.”
“I knew those two have to be dating!” Jennifer snapped. “It’s the perfect motivation!”
“Yeah,” said Nancy. “So, what is this karaoke bar that you speak of?”

They call me a fool when they themselves are the fools, Oriana thought to herself in anger.
She was sitting on a bench outside Harper Bay High School listening to everyone talking about her joining the band at Gothanburg Academy. Most of the students at Harper Bay didn’t like the students at Gothanburg because of the rumors of blatant bullying, drug use, sexual acts and even wild drinking parties, all that contradicted the squeaky-clean image of the rich high schooler that the H.B. students cleaved to.
Oriana shook her head; she had decided long ago that none of the H.B. kids were worth knowing. I may go to school with them, but that doesn’t mean that I have to be their friend, Oriana thought to herself. She stood up and walked to her old useless car, the car that most of the students at H.B. drove. She made sure to never be seen in that car while she attended Gothanburg. 
Never let it be said that Oriana Harrell was a coward.
She tried to start the car, but for some reason, it wouldn’t start. Perhaps she should have been specific when she asked for a car on her 16th birthday. Oriana gasped as the engine started smoking and then caught on fire. Well, isn’t this nice, she thought to herself. My car catches on fire at the school where no one really likes me. I guess they’d rather let me die than help me. And right after I saved their lives too. I should have dropped from H.B. when I had the chance.
She barely had seconds to get everything she owned and jump out the back door before the car exploded.

Jennifer and Nancy were sitting in the karaoke bar at the mall, listening to some poor talentless hack mess up the lyrics to Britney Spears’s “Oops I Did It Again”. Jennifer shook her head, knowing that that woman needed a makeover as well as some singing lessons. She hoped that when her turn came, she would outperform her rival.
When the song ended, the emcee said, “Thank you very much, Vera, and please, *don’t* perform another song; you’re bursting my eardrums. Anyway, next up, we have Jennifer Warrington, who will perform the song “This Time Again” by Candy Cane.”
Jennifer sighed as she heard the scattered applause through the bar and she walked up to the microphone. The song immediately began with the lyrics:
The first time we met, it was on the playground and we were just children then; but then you left and broke my little heart. / But now that we’re older and we have met once again; the time has come for romance but are we ready? / I’m not so sure if I want to fall in love, because love is complicated enough without the drama being thrown into the mix / you say that you are ready, but I know that I’m not...
It feels like we’re meeting for the first time again / the love we share is manifesting itself / but is it to be true, or are going to end up heartbroken again?
She wasn’t as good as she thought she was yesterday, Nancy thought to herself. In her mind, Jennifer wasn’t meant to sing songs about breaking up, not when most of her music collection contained love songs. Even the Grease mashup was better than this mushy break-up crap.
When the song ended, there was a bit more applause from the audience, just not enough for a girl starting out in a rock band. Jennifer stepped off the stage and said to Nancy, “So, how was it?”
“Not bad, but I wish you hadn’t picked that song,” said Nancy.
“Why not?” said Jennifer.
“It’s too depressing,” said Nancy. “The song is about breaking up and stuff. And knowing you, you don’t like stuff like that.”
“Not unless your dad just ups and leaves you when he discovers he fathered two sons out of wedlock,” said Jennifer. “Speaking of which, here they come.”
Jennifer’s father, Nicholas Warrington, had spotted the girls at the bar and was now walking towards them. He wasn’t alone; Roxanne was right next to him. The woman was described as a proud peacock with round chestnut eyes, long blond hair, looking like some of those exotic dancers than a normal woman at all. Jennifer couldn’t help but glare at Roxanne with extreme jealousy.
“How did he get a woman like THAT?” Nancy hissed.
“Beats me,” Jennifer said back.
Roxanne Stafford was wearing a huge ruby ring that Nicholas had gotten for her. It was worth less than the ring that he had given Karen when they got engaged 20 years ago. She was smiling a rather fake smile as she flashed her ring at complete strangers. Why was she smiling, Jennifer thought to herself. That whore has destroyed all chances for our family to ever reconcile and she’s SMILING about it. Jennifer resolved to get to the bottom of this mystery, even if it killed her.
Nicholas said, “I hope you left the glee club.”
“Well,” said Nancy a bit nervously. “it appeared that Jennifer is gonna be musically trained by Cristofer Cunningham...”
“The man who brought down the All-Knighters?” Nicholas cut in. “Are you crazy? That man will make you despise yourself in the name of religion.”
“Dad, don’t get so excited,” said Jennifer. “It’s just another extracurricular activity. Mrs. Sutton wasn’t too pleased when I told her I was leaving the glee club and she practically pushed me into joining the school band.”
“Indeed,” said Nicholas. He then said to the emcee, “My fiancée and I want to do a song.”
“A love song, hopefully?” said the emcee.
“Actually, I’d like to do the song “The Wadding Bar” by the All-Knighters,” said Roxanne.
At that, the crowd gasped in horror and the emcee said, “Are you for real? No one is allowed to sing anything by the All-Knighters.”
“Is there a law passed by Congress that says that I can’t sing any All-Knighters songs?” said Roxanne. “Let me sing the song.”
“Whatever,” said the emcee as he switched discs and Roxanne climbed onto the stage. Nancy said, “Well, this is our cue to leave. See you around, Mr. Warrington.”
And before Nicholas could respond, Nancy and Jennifer were gone.

Oriana stood outside and watched as firefighters put out the fire that had engulfed her car. Her bags were piled next to her and she was beginning to wonder how she was going to get home when Maura pulled up in her car.
“Oh my God, what happened to your car?” she cried out as she saw the charred remains of what had been Oriana’s car.
“I don’t know,” said Oriana, “but I had minutes to grab everything and get out before it exploded.”
“I can’t believe it,” said Maura. “I mean, it was a nice little car, too. I mean, nothing fancy about it and such.”
“And my parents won’t be back until Saturday,” said Oriana, “so I don’t know about getting a ride to Nancy’s place and such.”
“We’ll handle your transportation woes,” said Maura. “But what you need to do is to focus on the designs and such.”
“I hope so,” said Oriana as the girls loaded Oriana’s bags into Maura’s car and they drove away from the school.

At Nancy’s house, Jennifer and Nancy frowned as Oriana told them about her car. “I don’t understand why someone would burn your car,” said Jennifer.
“Maybe it was sabotage,” said Nancy.
“I think Davina and Shawnee did it,” said Maura. “They did that just to get back at you for taping up their mouths.”
“Speaking of which, how did their parents handle the duct tape incident?” said Oriana.
“They weren’t too mad,” said Nancy. “In fact, they were pretty cool about it. But Shawnee’s mother was upset that nobody thought to notify her about Shawnee’s behavior, though.”
“Her voicemail is already full enough,” said Oriana, “and her email has been flooded to the extreme. Is there nothing that those people coul...hey, what’s that sound?”
All four girls turned around and peeped out the window. There was a huge commotion outside. Apparently, some kid’s garage band was much too loud for the neighbors, as they could hear the band’s music in their living rooms. The police was out in full force, ordering the neighbors back inside their homes and warning them that if they complained about the band one more time, some arrests were going to be made.
In all honesty, the kids weren’t even that loud to begin with.
“What a shame,” said Maura. “Why do adults have to be always against the things we kids love?”
“Because they’re adults,” said Nancy. “I mean, my parents still like to watch cartoons on Saturday morning?”
“Shouldn’t we have outgrown cartoons by now?” said Jennifer.
“I agree,” said Maura. “And what do we call adults who like things that teenagers like?”
“Crazies,” all three of them chorused.
Oriana shook her head at them and pulled out her notebook, which was filled with poetry. She had been writing poetry since the fourth grade and refused to publish them. No one would be interested in reading the poetry of some “weirdo” like her, she reasoned to herself.
As for Jennifer, she found herself thinking about her father and how and why he even decided to hook up with someone like Roxanne Stafford. Did he think that he would be happy with her? Was he truly willing to abandon Jennifer and Addison the way he abandoned Darrell and Terence? She was going to resolve this mystery, even if it meant that she would be permanently estranged from her father.
The next day, Jennifer woke up early and went to the karaoke bar. She knew that she hadn’t exactly improved her singing, but she knew that she was lead singer material. Somehow, Jennifer knew that she would have to face Mayra and Claire, and she would prefer to do that in a small enclosed space with a teacher and a police officer present. Plus the girls would have to be in straightjackets.
By the time that she had showed up at school, it was 10 minutes before class and she barely had several seconds to get her textbooks and get to class before the bell rang. Jennifer slid into her seat, hoping that no one would notice her. Oriana glared at her and said, “You’re late.”
“Sorry,” said Jennifer, “but you know how it is. I’m not dealing with Mayra and Claire right now. Even Lazaro said that he would hurt me in response to what I said about Claire.”
“And Claire just being silly is the cold hard truth that she needed to hear,” said Oriana.
Just then, the phone rang. It rang with a dull clank, drawing the attention of the entire class. The teacher answered it, with everyone on edge, wondering what was going on. At last, Mr. Weil said, “Miss Harrell, Principal Datchery wants to see you in his office. Miss Castaneda and Miss Wenlock are already there.”
At that, the class gasped as Oriana slowly stood up from her seat and left the room. Jennifer already knew what was going to happen: the principal knew that Davina and Shawnee had destroyed Oriana’s car as revenge for Oriana taping up their mouths yesterday and he was going to expel them from the school. Jennifer frowned as she also left the room and followed Oriana to the principal’s office. Nancy and Maura soon joined her. All three girls reached the office and saw Oriana take her seat away from the other two girls and the angry principal. Things certainly were going to get really ugly for them all quickly...
Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
Burn, Baby, Burn!!!
Yesterday, firefighters were called out to the Harper Bay High School student parking lot, where a car fire broke out. According to witnesses, the car, which belonged to O.H., quickly exploded when O. attempted to start up the car. She survived the incident with just a few scrapes.
At first, the police believed that the car explosion was nothing but a harmless prank, but a closer look at the damage suggested that this was no random attack, but a murder attempt on a mentally disabled girl. 5 HBHS students were arrested earlier this morning for this disgusting crime. One of the students attending HBHS claimed that D.C. and S.W. had paid them over $800 to take out O. due to the duct tape incident, which they had rightfully deserved.
But some other witnesses had come forward, claiming that the student in question was paid by M.C., C.S., and L.G. to kidnap J.W. and “make sure that she never found” or “found dead”. Hmmm...I wonder what is really going on here, as there is no way that 5 HBHS students would even want to be involved with the students of Gothanburg Academy, as they are currently at war with one another.
So, what is really going on here? Why would several GA students want to harm their own? Like it or not, this issue will be the top topic of the day. Ta-ta for now!

Chapter 7
In the principal’s office, Jennifer, Nancy, and Maura ducked down among the tables that were in front of the principal’s office. They watched as the principal addressed the two girls sitting beside him. “What happened yesterday was one of the most disgusting things that I have seen in all my years of being principal at this school. I never thought that I would see the day that two students would intentionally blow up another student’s car, just for the act of bullying. I can’t even look at you two right now.”
Jennifer frowned as she stared at Davina and Shawnee. both girls had their heads down, looking quite ashamed of themselves. Oriana had a murderous glare on her face. Principal Datchery continued, “I’m going to have an assembly this afternoon so that everyone will find out what you have done.”
“But we didn’t do anything!” cried Davina.
“It’s all those crazies’ fault!” cried Shawnee. “Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro wanted to blow up Jennifer’s car!”
“I don’t want to hear any more of your lies,” said Principal Datchery. “I have tolerated your crap for far too long now, and I’m not going to let this incident slide. You will both be severely punished for this.”
Jennifer turned to Maura and Nancy and said, “Those two are in trouble now!”
“But what of Claire and Mayra?” said Nancy. “They wanted to get rid of you.”
“And Lazaro was in on it as well,” said Maura.
“But the principal isn’t going after the crazies,” said Nancy. “He just wants the big scary girls gone.”
“Well, maybe we should expose them as well,” said Jennifer. “Nobody should fear the crazies.”
“Indeed,” said Maura as they watched as the S.W.A.T. team swarm into the place with gurneys and straightjackets. The girls tensed, as they knew what was going to happen next…
At lunch, Jennifer, Nancy, Maura, and Oriana were sitting in the music room; they all planned to meet in the library to discuss the latest news that they had read about on Jabberstorm, but someone would probably overhear them. Lola, Keona, and Heather had yet to arrive; there was no need for them to know about the unwarranted attacks on two of their band members.
“Well, I told you to keep your mouth shut, did I not?” Maura snapped at Jennifer.
“Don’t get too mad at her,” said Oriana. “I’m also tired of Claire’s crap. I can’t believe that she and Mayra would want you dead or missing forever. I mean, this is unthinkable. We’ve barely just begun and already there are death threats against us.”
“I know,” said Nancy. “I hate how fame always bring out the craziest people.”
“I abhor crazy people,” said Jennifer. “Totally detest them. My grandpa was killed by some crazy woman when my mom was a teenager.”
“That’s sad,” said Maura. “Did they ever arrest her?”
“They didn’t,” said Jennifer. “They don’t believe in sending crazy people to jail. Whatever happened to chucking them in the nuthouse and throwing away the key?”
Just then, other voices were heard and the girls quickly ended the conversation. Lola, Heather, and Keona were talking about some money that they had found on the football field during gym class. So far, no one else had seen them pick up the money and they successfully hid the money in Keona’s bag.
Also, Mr. Cunningham strolled into the room and said, “Well, ladies, the principal has given me clearance to teach you girls, so you’ll be out of class for a good while. Also, the school rally is next week, so you girls are to perform there.”
The girls frowned as they all stared at him. He continued, “I also must say that fame has a way of bringing out those who are crazy, and today’s incident is no different. That’s why you see news about lawsuits against tabloids and restraining orders. You girls are already on your way to that side of fame. But for now, let’s deal with the other side of fame, the side that no one is allowed to see. Get your instruments.”
Immediately, all seven girls stood up and walked into the stage. “Wait,” said Mr. Cunningham. “Let’s go over some of the roles that we’re going to play here. We have a keyboard, two microphones, two guitars, one bass guitar, and a drum set. You girls need to fill out the roles. Here’s how I’m going to set up the band: Keona, you’re on keyboard; Oriana and Maura, you’re on guitars; Lola, you’re on drums; Heather, you’re on bass; Jennifer and Nancy, you’ve got the biggest role of all...you’re on the microphones.”
“What?” Nancy cried out. “You’re kidding, right? Somebody else should stand in front of the microphone.”
“C’mon, Nance,” said Maura. “All the other slots are open. And you know you’re no good with musical instruments.”
“But I can’t even carry a tune,” Nancy cried out. “You know my voice is shot.”
“I bet it’s better than what we heard yesterday at the karaoke bar,” said Jennifer.
“Indeed,” said Mr. Cunningham as he guided Nancy to the microphone. The others quickly took their positions on stage as he stepped back to examine the girls. “Good. Now, let’s start off with some rudiments of music: the drums provide the beat, the bass guitar provides the backup, the keyboard and guitars provide the melodies. But the singers provide the lyrics to the songs. You understand all of that?”
“Well, kind of,” Oriana began.
“Good,” said Mr. Cunningham as the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. The girls jumped from the stage and went to gather their things when an announcement was heard: “I want everyone in the auditorium in less than 15 minutes.”
At that, the girls frowned, as they knew that what the principal had said to Davina and Shawnee that morning was going to echo throughout the school…

In the Miami Bay jail, three women sat outdoors. Claudia, Karen, and Susan were meeting in order to discuss their next move. Susan had recently been kidnapped from her job, drugged, and taken to jail. That had happened four days earlier, and Susan’s daughters Maura and Maisie were forced to leave their apartment and stay with their gay father, Darrow Paltrier. But Karen quickly asked the judge to revoke custody of the girls from Darrow, who abandoned his family in pursuit of a gay partner.
“So, why did you end up in jail?” said Claudia.
“Well, I did have an affair with Travis Brixby,” Susan admitted, but the other women gasped in horror.
“THE Travis Brixby?” cried Karen. “You mean the CEO of Brixby Enterprises? You can’t be serious!”
“His wife is a total bitch,” said Claudia.
“I wish I’d known that,” said Susan.
“Anyway, I’m sure Blanche Brixby is trying to find ways to keep you in jail,” said Karen, “but my brother is a judge. He and Pierre can have you out of there in a heartbeat.”
“Good,” said Susan. “But before you arrived, my public defender came to me with the news that Travis and Blanche are getting divorced, but I’m not the main reason. Blanche apparently stole about $2 million dollars from the company.”
“Did you go to the police about that?” said Claudia.
“That’s kind of why I’m here,” said Susan. “But to be honest, it’s her fault. Do you think that Roxanne and Blanche are related?”
“I hope so,” said Karen. “Maybe we can send them to Australia. Make sure that they can NEVER come back!”
“Of course,” said Claudia.
Just then, two phones rang. Karen checked hers and said, “I’ve been called into the school. It’s about those two girls again.”
“Davina and Shawnee?” said Susan.
“Yes, them again,” said Claudia.
“They should have been put away for good,” said Susan. “But how and why they’re still at Gothanburg is beyond me.”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m pissed at John Datchery,” said Karen. “I can’t believe that he would allow those two girls to stay in that school when it is clearly evident that they are harassing the other students and disrespecting the teachers.”
“Such a shame our daughters have to attend the same school as those monsters,” said Susan. “I’m glad that this is their final year; I hate to be them if I had to see Davina and Shawnee for another year.”
“Maybe we should stop Datchery from allowing them to graduate,” said Claudia.
Little did they know that someone was watching them from behind a bush...

Within 15 minutes, everyone in the entire school was assembled in the auditorium. Principal Datchery was standing on stage, with the vice principal and the hall monitors. Davina and Shawnee were sitting on stage, but apart from each other.
The Fab Four were sitting in their seats in the audience, all shaking their heads. Something was going to happen to the school and whatever it was going to be, it wasn’t good.
Principal Datchery said, “I consider myself a very reasonable man, but there are rules in this school. And I expect these rules to be obeyed. Well, there are those students who think that it’s OK to break the rules and get away with it. Well, I tell you one thing: I will not tolerate this behavior from any student at this school.
“Yesterday, I learned that one of our students was a victim of a bullying attack when her car was blown up at the Harper Bay High School student parking lot. I learned that Davina Castaneda and Shawnee Wenlock had paid several of the students who attended the school to blow up said student’s car. The student whose car was blown up shall not be mentioned, but as for Bryan Moran, Shelby Pike, Shawn Ferreira, Kerry McCord, and Chasity Schmidt, they were arrested this morning for their part in the car fire and have been expelled from the school. But as for our ringleaders, Davina and Shawnee will be taken to the local prison, where they will remain until their case goes to trial.”
The entire audience gasped, looking around them to find out whose car was blown to bits. “I haven’t finished yet,” said Principal Datchery. “It was also drawn to my attention that there were over 700 acts of bullying committed by Davina and Shawnee in this past year alone, and yet, none of those reports have reached my desk. I am very angry about this and I will be getting to the bottom of this.
“Also, there have also been rumors that Claire Sheppard, Mayra Carney, and Lazaro Garner are plotting the kidnapping of a student here at Gothanburg. Let me be blunt when I say that I will not tolerate this, and I will be dealing with those kids. But for now, I will be questioning you all about the bullying and whatnot that has happened here and you will all be honest. Anyone who lies or tries to hide the truth will be getting an in-school suspension for the rest of the year.”
He turned to Davina and Shawnee and said, “I hope you two are pleased with yourselves; you have irrevocably ruined everything for this school and your fellow students. I hope beyond all reason that you two are sent to jail for the rest of your miserable lives.”
He left the stage as the S.W.A.T. Team came and apprehended the girls, strapping them into straightjackets and carrying them out of the school. The kids watched the event unfolding with anticipation. As soon as the two girls were out of the auditorium, the entire place burst into cheer. After more than four years of suffering unbearable torment from the school bullies, the students of Gothanburg Academy were finally free.
Or maybe not.
Mrs. McClendon rang the gong and the school fell silent. She said, “Do you children seriously think this is something to cheer about? Right now, two students are being taken to prison, possibly for life, and you are all acting as if Christmas had come early. Do you have no empathy for them?”
“Nah,” said the random student. “I don’t care about them at all. They deserved whatever punishment they’re getting.” At that, the other students agreed.
“Indeed,” said Mrs. McClendon said with a stern look on her face. “I would tell you to return to your classes, but due to that behavior, I’m sending you all home for the day. I expect you all to be here tomorrow, ready to answer to the principal about why he had no idea that the bullying had been going on.”
Jennifer looked around her as the entire student body got up from their seats and began to leave the room. “Not you girls,” said Mr. Cunningham as they prepared to leave. “You girls stay here. We have much to learn.”
Oriana was among those who left the school; she had enough to deal with right now, such as how and why her car was set on fire and who paid who to burn her car. Like the rest of the school, she initially thought that it was Davina and Shawnee who did the dirty deed, but her suspicions were aroused when Jonathon Goins spread a rumor that placed the blame on Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro and their plans to kidnap Jennifer and destroy her car so that she would never be found.
With those three, something had got to give.

Oriana knew that her days at Harper Bay High School were over when the principal saw her approaching the building and telling her that she had earned enough dues by exposing Bryan Moran, Shelby Pike, Shawn Ferreira, Kerry McCord, and Chasity Schmidt as the co-conspirators of last year’s school shooting and they had admitted their involvement in the destruction of her car. Oriana nodded and walked away, frowning as she did so. Had it not been for the school shooting, she would have actually enjoyed going to Harper Bay and transferred there permanently.
Maura and Nancy were waiting in the car when Oriana approached the school sign. Nancy said, “So, that’s it, then?”
“Indeed,” said Oriana. “I can’t go back there no more. Not since someone noticed those five putting a firework in my car. But why me and not Jennifer, I ask, since it’s mainly her that those bullies are after, not little old me?”
“Maybe they wanted to use you to get back at her,” said Maura. “Well, that’s that for Harper Bay; we need to get back to the school and back to practice.”
“And after that, some retail therapy?” said Nancy.
“Perhaps,” said Oriana. She was in need of it herself; it had been a trying day indeed, with the bullies behind bars and the principal demanding answers and whatnot, it couldn’t hurt to do a bit of shopping indeed.
Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
Oh, the Humanity!
Yesterday, Principal Datchery held an assembly, in which he outlined the crimes that D.C. and S.W. had committed against O.H. and eventually had them removed from GA. The remaining students are rejoicing over this unexpected turn in the ongoing fight against D and S, but the teachers were not pleased.
Also, rumor has it that O has been banned from attending HBHS because she outed B.M., S.P., S.F., K.M., and C.S. as the co-conspirators in last year’s school shooting and the car bombing incident. When will people learn to stop harassing disabled children and let them live?
Well, I’ll be checking up on O and the rest of the Fab Four as their musical career takes off. Ta-ta!

Chapter 8

When Jennifer got to school several minutes before the first period began, she couldn’t believe her eyes: She saw Nancy wearing a vintage outfit of a painted vest and brown jeans while Oriana was wearing a tye-dye shirt and bell-bottom jeans.
“Did you guys go shopping yesterday?” she cried out.
“Well, we did, but I think it’s time we all stopped shopping at the designer stores,” said Maura, who was wearing a dark blue slogan shirt, a pair of pink slacks, and a pair of tennis shoes.
“And besides, real rock stars don’t wear the latest fashions,” said Oriana.
“They don’t?” Jennifer cried out.
“In fact, most of today’s rocks stars dress in whatever they want to wear, even if it’s from a bygone era,” said Maura. “You see, Nancy can hardly fit into those designer dresses that are the norm nowadays.”
“Maybe she needs to lose weight,” Lazaro snickered as he walked by them.
“Maybe YOU need a new attitude!” Nancy shouted back. “Anyway, I had to sell most of my clothes to get my new wardrobe since they didn’t fit me. Besides, you really think my naturally chunky body is meant for DKNY, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Chanel? I’m meant to wear vintage clothes that actually fit me.”
“Why?” said Jennifer
“Because I can’t wear clothes that don’t fit me anymore,” said Nancy. “I don’t have the skinnies like you do, and I highly doubt that I’ll ever be able to be thin.”
“Ok, if you say so,” said Jennifer. “See you second period.”

At break, the girls met in the library and read the latest Jabberstorm post. “‘Oh the Humanity’? Really?” cried Maura. “The writer thinks that all of humanity has fallen due to one stupid act?”
“Even worse, this article says that I’ve been banned from Harper Bay for exposing five students as bullies and peer abusers,” said Oriana. “All I did was get my car blown up while on school property.”
“I know,” said Jennifer. “And can you believe the next line: “When will people learn to stop harassing disabled children and let them live?” I mean, since when do disabled people NOT have the right to live without having their cars being blown up?”
Just then, Mrs. Sutton approached them and said, “Since Oriana no longer has her classes at Harper Bay, the principal has determined that you’ll be having your classes with Mr. Cunningham from now on.”
“Well, OK then,” said Jennifer.
Oriana said, “Well, let’s put it like this: if they don’t want us around, we’re gonna have to get rebellious and stuff. Just like regular rock stars do.”
“Also, I’ve written us a new song,” said Maura as she pulled out a piece of paper from her notebook:
Gimme Super Powers Wade Dunn! ~ by Magnificent Trophy
I was sick and tired of everything, / When I called you last night from America. / All I do is do some exercise and mop the floor and clean my teeth, / Wishing that I had some talent.
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme super powers! / Won’t somebody help me shop! / Gimme! Gimme! Gimme super powers! / I really want to shop!
Wade Dunn, I was defeated, you won the war. / Wade Dunn, promise to love me forever more. / Wade Dunn, couldn’t escape if I wanted to. / Wade Dunn, knowing my fate is to be with you. / Aw-aw-aw-aw-aw Wade Dunn! / Finally facing Wade Dunn.
You are the sailing technician, here in America. / Sailing technician, feel the beat from the tambourine. / You can shop, you can shop, having the time of your life.
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! super powers, / Won’t somebody help me shop!
“That is so lame,” said Jennifer. “I have one that’ll rock your socks off!”
Chortle ~ by Magnificent Trophy
They get on with life as a lawyer, / They’re a terrific kinda type. / They like watching football and sewing dresses. / They like to contemplate Swedes. / But when they start to daydream, / Their mind turns straight to Danes.
Tralala tralala...
Sometimes I look at them and I look into their eyes, / I notice the way they think about Danes with a smile, / Curved lips they just can’t disguise. / But they think it’s Swedes making their life worthwhile. / Why is it so hard for them to decide which they love more? / Swedes or... / Danes?
They like to use words like ‘chortle’ and ‘onwards.’ / They like to use words about Swedes. / But when they stop their talking, / Their mind turns straight to Danes.
Tralala tralala...
Sometimes I look at them and I look into their eyes, / I notice the way they think about Danes with a smile, / Curved lips they just can’t disguise. / But they think it’s Swedes making their life worthwhile. / Why is it so hard for them to decide which they love more? / Swedes or... / Danes?
They like to hang out with Rachelle Calvert and Clifford Bouchard. / But when left alone, Their mind turns straight to Danes.
Tralala tralala...
Sometimes I look at them and I look into their eyes, / I notice the way they think about Danes with a smile, / Curved lips they just can’t disguise. / But they think it’s Swedes making their life worthwhile. / Why is it so hard for them to decide which they love more? / Swedes or... / Danes?
They hate giant bugs and wasp nests. / But they just think back to Danes, / And they’re happy once again.
Tralala tralala...
Oriana shook her head in disgust; none of the other girls knew anything about songwriting, let alone poetry. She said, “Well, here’s how real poetry should go...”
She pulled out her notebook and flipped to a page. The poem on the page was titled “Darkness Descends” and the poem went something like this:
Darkness Descends ~ by Oriana Harrell
the night falls in a heavy, suffocating cloak,
cold and alone are we.

the understanding for which you sacrifice yourself
flares once, then dies, smothered by the abyss.

all hope must surely perish.
your passion throbs no more.
how could you fail to believe?

spirits surround us, crying,
“save us from ourselves”.
“And since when have you been so interest in the dark and macabre?” Nancy cried out as she read the poem.
“Ok, so I watched “Interview With A Vampire” a few months ago,” said Oriana. “Why should you worry?”
“Because that’s not you,” said Maura. “You’re the normally bubbly type, not the Goth type. This is seriously freaking me out.”
“Ok, here’s another poem,” Oriana said as she flipped to another page…
Wanton Agony~by Oriana Harrell
The ocean blows bubbles in black dewdrops.
Forget it!

The sunset aches for the doo-doo of velvet agony,
As the night shines like donkey bananas.

A wanderer tastes like Heaven’s ecstasy.
Jump back!

My love quivers in the sun’s lust,
While my sweetheart emanates luscious abandonment.
“Ok, you’re starting to scare me,” Jennifer cried out. “Where are you getting these crazy ideas from?”
“I get them from everywhere,” said Oriana.
“Maybe you could write a poem about the school bullies and how they intimidate us,” said Maura. “That’ll be much better than your scary stuff.”
“And hopefully, make a lot more sense than your crazy songs,” said Oriana.
The bell rang and they went on to their classes. Since the removal of Davina and Shawnee, the school was in some sort of euphoria. No one seemed to care that they still had a few more weeks of school left; in fact, most of them hoped that other bullies would be found out and taken away from not only Gothanburg, but also Harper Bay and many other high schools in the state of Florida. Maybe even the entire country.
As soon as Oriana settled into her seat, she pulled out her notebook. Inspiration had struck once again, and this time, she had to hurry and write the poem down before the mundaness of class took over. She wanted to make sure that this poem would be much better than Maura’s and Jennifer’s messed up writing.

At lunch, just before heading into the music room, Jennifer logged onto a computer in the library and went to Jabberstorm, hoping for some news about something other than Davina and Shawnee...
Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.

Jealousy made Davina Castaneda to throw her boyfriend’s computer through the window ~ by Laurie Frost
This high school student from Miami, Florida threw her boyfriend’s laptop trough a window. This incident happened after a short argument. He was allegedly chatting with other girls on the popular social website Chattyville.com.
D. even put in danger all pedestrians that were walking on the street at that moment by throwing the computer from the 4th floor of her apartment building.
Chattyville is often reason of jealousy in relationships because it enables communication with plenty of other people. That is also a reason behind this conflict.
We’ve done a short interview with this high school student from Miami, Florida:
Q: Why did you destroy your boyfriend’s computer?
A: Because he is lying, unfaithful...!
Q: But, you put other people in danger with your reaction!
A: Maybe, but I am sorry, I was so angry...I could not control myself!
Q: What are you going to do now?
A: We’re done; I don’t want to see him any more! And he has the smallest brain I ever seen!
That is a good example guys. Take care; maybe your girl is watching you.

Shawnee Wenlock caught stealing purses from designer showroom ~ by Jacklyn Lake 
Miami, Florida - S.W. has been arrested stealing five designer purses from a store in an outlet mall. Each purse is valued over $500, so S. is being charged with five counts of attempted burglary.
S. was apprehended while exiting the store with a large bag. The alarms went off as she was exiting the store, and undercover loss prevention officers ordered her to stop. S. yelled out, “You’ll never catch me, suckas!” and started to dash for the door. It took 3 officers to finally tackle and subdue the deranged high school student.
At that, Jennifer shook her head. Apparently, it wasn’t enough to have the two girls degraded in front of the entire school, but they had scores of fake news articles written about them. She read further: 
Davina Castaneda hospitalized after traffic altercation ~ by Ahmad Greene 
Miami, FL - High School student Davina Castaneda has been reported to be in serious condition and taken to Golden State Regional Hospital after a minor traffic accident that escalated into a physical altercation in Miami, FL.
Witness reports indicate that D.’s BMW struck a minivan filled with disabled children who were on their way to see the movie Galaxy Riders. Two women and one man exited the van and extracted her from the vehicle, then began kicking and punching the student before fleeing the scene.
“She didn’t have a chance against these people who attacked her before she said a single word to them”, replied a visibly shaken onlooker.
D. was unresponsive upon the arrival of police officers and EMT’s, but appeared to be breathing according to eyewitness reports.
This story is developing as we await confirmation regarding the eyewitness details and official health status.

Shawnee Wenlock Is Clearly Obese ~ by Jan Knowles 
Today Jabberstorm Can Officially Reveal that S.W. is officially obese. S. has recently gained a very large amount of weight, which obviously shown as S. is clearly obese.
S. revealed exclusively to Jabberstorm Today “I have realized that I am clearly obese and it’s time for me to go on a diet and shed those pounds!.”
Jabberstorm is extremely pleased to get this exclusive interview with S.W. to share with despite other news offers to reveal the exclusive story, and we hope S. will shed those pounds. 
At this point, Maura tapped her on the shoulder and said, “Jen, the others are waiting for you in the…what on earth are you reading?”
“Oh nothing, just some random crap that they’re posting about Davina and Shawnee on Jabberstorm,” said Jennifer.
“Well, just print them out and let’s go,” said Maura. “We don’t have all...” then looking at the screen, she said, “I can’t believe this!”
“What?” said Jennifer.
“There is a crapload of stuff about Davina and Shawnee on here!” cried Maura.
“I know, right?” said Jennifer.
“Just wait until the girls get a load of this!” Maura cried out.
Jennifer logged off, then both girls rushed to the music room, where Nancy and Oriana were meeting. “You have got to be kidding me,” said Nancy when Jennifer and Maura told them about the fake articles about Davina and Shawnee.
“But it’s true,” said Jennifer.
“Well, I’m not surprised,” said Oriana. “Those girls get arrested and it’s now being plastered all over the Miami Herald. But to have this kind of crap being shoved into our faces is quite…despicable, if you know what I mean.”
“Well, there’s tons of fake news about them on Jabberstorm,” said Jennifer, “and right now, I have no sympathy for them. They deserve whatever cruelty they’re getting.”
She wasn’t alone there; scores of students were reading the stories on Jabberstorm and talking about Davina and Shawnee. Anyone who didn’t know about Davina and Shawnee being removed from the school soon found out. 
“Are you suggesting that they get nothing but pain?” said Oriana. “What of their parents? What of poor innocent Sam?”
“Well, he has to live with Davina,” said Nancy, “and she probably abuses him more than she bullies us.”
Just then, the voices of Heather, Lola, Keona, and Mr. Cunningham were heard in the hall, effectively ending the conversation. Mr. Cunningham said, “Ok, girls, I’ve booked us all a performance act at tomorrow’s Cinco de Mayo celebration, so you’ll have to do some serious practicing. Now, get to where you were yesterday:  Keona, you’re on keyboard; Oriana and Maura, you’re on guitars; Lola, you’re on drums; Heather, you’re on bass; Jennifer and Nancy, you’re on the microphones. Now take your places.”
Jennifer and Nancy said nothing to each other as they took the microphones as the other girls went to their instruments. They just wanted to get the singing done and over with. Oriana said, “Do you have a song for us to practice?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” said Mr. Cunningham. He handed the girls a slip of paper containing the song: 
The Tale of My Terrific Scientist Friend ~ by Magnificent Trophy
It began on a spiffing April night: / I was the most down to earth academic around, / He was the most terrific scientist.
He was my friend, / My terrific friend, / My scientist.
We used to skip so well together, / Back then. / We wanted to giggle together, around the world, We wanted it all.
But one night, one spiffing night, / We decided to giggle too much. / Together we stroked a cat. / It was smooth, so smooth.
From that moment, our relationship changed. / He grew so ample.
And then it happened:
Oh no! Oh no!
He slapped a tramp. / Alas, a tramp! / My friend slapped a tramp. / It was bumpy, so bumpy.
The next day I thought my hands had broken, / I thought my tummy had burst into flames, / (But I was actually overreacting a little.)
But still, he is in my thoughts. / I think about how it all changed that night, / That spiffing April night.
My tummy...ouch! / When I think of that terrific scientist, / That terrific scientist and me.
Jennifer glared at the lyrics and said, “None of this makes any sense.”
“I know,” said Nancy. “Shouldn’t we be starting off with something a bit...easier for us to understand?”
“Well, I must admit that my songwriting skills are as good as an ice cream cone on a cold wintry day, but that’s the best that I could do on such short notice,” said Mr. Cunningham. “So, let’s hop to it! Lola, tap that snare four times and the cymbals twice, and then hit the bass. While she’s doing that, Keona, play in the G chord while Heather, Oriana, and Maura begin playing the melody. You are all to do that three times and on the fourth, Jennifer and Nancy start singing. Now, let’s begin!”
As the music began to play and Jennifer and Nancy began singing, the girls had no idea that someone was hiding in the back row of the classroom, filming them. Several times, Mr. Cunningham had to stop the music because a girl kept messing up or Nancy began singing off-key and they had to start the song all over from the very beginning. This is even harder than I thought, Jennifer thought to herself as the band had to start over for the fifth time. They never show us the long hours of practices that the bands actually put in so that they could get the effect that their music actually has on us. She had learned not to complain about starting over a long time ago, while she was still part of the marching band.
Even though the bell had rang and the other students made their way to their classes, Mr. Cunningham refused to let the girls leave until they performed the song flawlessly. Neither did the secret videographer. Jennifer sighed and resumed her singing, resolving not to get involved in anyone else’s complaints. She also learned that in both marching band and the glee club, where Mia told her to keep her mouth shut whenever someone complained because it was about her, not them.
Mia, Mia, Mia, Jennifer frowned as she thought about the now-disgraced aspiring Broadway star, what would you be saying now if you were in Nancy’s position? She knew very well that Mia would probably be making the other girls’ lives miserable until they quit the band. Mia only tolerated perfection and would allow no one to make any mistakes or to try to sing better than her. How can someone like her exist? Why does she exist, if but to make our lives miserable while hers is to only be perfect? God is so unfair.
After nearly 3 hours of musical torment, the girls had finally been able to play “The Tale of My Terrific Scientist Friend” all the way through without making a single mistake. Mr. Cunningham smiled at them and said, “I see that you girls can play a simple song without screwing up. Very nice.”
The girls, despite the fact that they were now completely exhausted, all glared at him. Why was he smiling, they thought to themselves. How can he torture us like this and the principal be OK with this? Jennifer, Nancy, Maura, and Oriana all thought to themselves why is Principal Datchery punishing us for exposing Davina and Shawnee’s wickedness? It wasn’t like we did anything wrong, just stopped them from bullying the other students. What is going on here?
To Cristofer, smiles hide so many things, like the fact that within less than a week, he had managed to whip 7 musically uneducated girls into an actual rock band, something that he wasn’t able to do with the All-Knighters. If anything, the band was now so far down in the hole that there was no way that they could dig themselves out of it. He thought of Leilar Dara, who had fallen from grace since his secret was exposed many years earlier. Who knew what he was doing right now? 
Little did the girls know that the next few hours of their lives would be even more rotten…

Chapter 9
The next day was May 5, 1999, and Jennifer was lying awake in bed for nearly 3 hours before getting out of bed and wearing her favorite dress. She wasn’t going to fail now.
After her daily trip to the mall and a quick purchase of a plush rabbit, a pearl necklace, a pack of cards, and a scarf, Jennifer was on her way to school. There was another rally being held and this time, the principal wasn’t suspending anyone. In fact, there was a medium-sized contingency of students whose families came from Mexico who were  dancing on the stage to the delight of the rest of the school.
Nancy saw her and said, “Where have you been? Tell me you didn’t go to the mall on this important day?”
“I have to,” said Jennifer. “I don’t know when Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro are gonna try to jump me. I can’t be too here, you know.”
“C’mon, Jen,” said Maura, “you don’t know that they’re gonna jump you. Besides, they always say they’re gonna jump someone, but they never follow through with their threats. Sometimes you worry too much.”
“Yeah,” Jennifer admitted.
“Now come on, we’ve got a show to do,” said Nancy as she and Maura pushed Jennifer into the backstage dressing room. Heather, Keona, Lola, and Oriana were already there, getting the instruments ready for the big performance. The girls were wearing brightly colored t-shirts, jeans, and shoes. Everyone, except for Oriana, that is.
“Will someone tell her that tennis shoes and dresses look dumb?” Heather hissed as she pointed to Oriana, who was wearing a dull orange dress and white shoes.
“You know Ori never wears pants,” said Maura as she dragged Jennifer into the room. 
“And besides, even if she did wear pants, she’d only wear them once,” said Jennifer. “Pants just aren’t her thang.”
Mr. Cunningham said to the girls, “Ok, I come to you with a warning: the crowd will NOT like you.”
“And you’re telling us this WHY???” Jennifer cried out as the girls gasped in horror.
“The first show that most musicians put on is NEVER a success,” said Mr. Cunningham. “And you want to know why?” He showed them a piece of paper with the song called “When Your Life is Full of Naive Lies and Crap”. “You’re going to try to sing this song, and you will fail miserably,” he said.
“Just give us the song!” All seven girls snapped at him.
When Your Life is Full of Naive Lies and Crap ~ by Magnificent Trophy
Bullies suck and stupidity sucks. / The world is out to get you. / You want to chase the shadows away, / But your life is full of lies and crap.
You wonder when will it end. / You want Brad Pitt, / You want Keanu Reeves, / But all you see is Delbert Schmidt. / Oh Davina Castaneda. / Oh, bullies and stupidity, they’ll pull you under, / Drain your life of friendship and wonder.
Bullies suck and stupidity sucks. / The world is out to get you. / You want to chase the shadows away, / But your life is full of lies and crap.
You really want the world to end, / Goodbye Brad Pitt, / Goodbye Keanu Reeves, / And good riddance to Delbert Schmidt. / Oh Delbert Schmidt. / Oh bullies, stupidity, they will pull you under, / Drain your life of friendship and wonder.
Bullies suck and stupidity sucks. / The world is out to get you. / You want to chase the shadows away, / But your life is full of lies and crap.
Your life doesn’t have to end. / Sing with Brad Pitt, / Dance with Keanu Reeves, / And put a curse on Delbert Schmidt. / Oh Delbert Schmidt. / Your life is naive, / But get out and chase the shadows away.
You want the greatest thing / The greatest thing since your last holiday. / You’ve got it all, you’ve got it sized. / If you are confused check with Jabberstorm. / Carry a boat to help you along.
Get out and chase the shadows away.
The girls quickly took the stage and without any introduction, they began playing their song. But since all the performances had to be done in Spanish, here’s how the song went:
Los matones chupa chupan y estupidez. / El mundo está tratando de hacerte daño. / ¿Quieres que perseguir entre las sombras de distancia, / Pero tu vida está llena de mentiras y basura.
Usted se pregunta cuándo va a terminar. / ¿Quieres Brad Pitt, / ¿Quieres Keanu Reeves, / Pero único que ves está Delbert Schmidt. / Oh Davina Castaneda. / Oh matones y la estupidez, te tiran hacia abajo, / Escurra tu vida de amistad y admiración.
Los matones chupa chupa y estupidez. / El mundo está tratando de hacerte daño. / ¿Quieres que perseguir las sombras de distancia, / Pero tu vida está llena de mentiras y basura.
Usted quiere realmente del mundo para terminar, / Adiós Brad Pitt, / Adiós Keanu Reeves, / Y hasta nunca a Delbert Schmidt. / Oh Delbert Schmidt. / Oh matones, estupidez, te tiran hacia abajo, / Vaciar su vida de amistad y admiración.
Los matones chupa chupa y estupidez. / El mundo está tratando de hacerte daño. / ¿Quieres que perseguir las sombras de distancia, / Pero tu vida está llena de mentiras y basura.
Tu vida no tiene por qué terminar. / Canta con Brad Pitt, / Danza con Keanu Reeves, / Y poner una maldición sobre Delbert Schmidt. / Oh Delbert Schmidt. / Tu vida es ingenuo, / Pero salir y perseguir entre las sombras de distancia.
Usted quiere que la lo más grande que / La cosa más grande desde sus últimas vacaciones. / Lo has entendido todo, usted lo tiene grande. / Si usted está confundido comprobar con Jabberstorm. / Llevar un barco para ayudarle a lo largo.
Salga y perseguir entre las sombras de distancia.
At this, the cheering that happened before they took the stage had quickly turned into boos and before the Fab Four knew what was happening, the other students began throwing tacos and burritos at them. 
Jennifer gasped in horror at the chaos that was unfolding around her and she realized that Cristofer Cunningham was a liar, selfish, greedy, self-important, spiteful, and emotionally abusive. This man couldn’t possibly be the music teacher that Principal Datchery had hired to train his school rock band.
In fact, he was using the same tactics that had brought down the All-Knighters when HE had joined the band. 
“We gotta get outta here!” Nancy cried out as the tacos and burritos began to pelt them. “They’re gonna start a riot!”
“Indeed,” said Oriana. “Let’s leave now!” And as all seven girls made their backstage getaway, Jennifer saw a cruel smile on Mr. Cunningham’s face. Why was he smiling when he knew he was out to get us, she thought to herself. Even Mia, Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro wouldn’t do anything like that at all. So, why him?
She shook her head as she rushed off the stage.

Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
Cinco de Fail-O!
Yesterday, the band known as the Magnificent Trophy came to perform at the Gothanburg Academy Cinco de Mayo rally, and we kind of wish that they didn’t.
In fact, their performance leaves much to be desired.
Well, they did dress more like cheap trophies, as opposed to their name, and their song seemed rather lame. I have posted the lyrics to the song (in English) as well as a video of their rehearsals. How can a band work so hard just to fail? I think there is a conspiracy going on here, as rumors that the band was being set up to fail are swirling around the entire school. 
I’ll keep you posted on the band’s progress as their musical journey continues.

The next day, Jennifer woke up at 2 A.M.
She still could not believe that the group had been humiliated like that on stage in front of the entire school. And even worse, the principal had called them out of class and scolded them for a very poor performance and also, nearly starting a riot. The Hispanic Club was so angry with the Fab Four that they decided to have them banned from attending the South of the Border party that was being held after school.
Jennifer had decided to skip the rest of the school day and go home, where she plopped on the couch and watched soap operas until it was time for her to go to practice.
When she got to the music room, she saw that far from feeling depressed, Nancy, Maura, and Oriana were actually cool about the whole thing. Nancy said, “You don’t look too good, Jen.”
“I know,” said Jennifer. “I still can’t believe that we got ourselves humiliated.”
“Worst of all, Mr. Cunningham warned us that this would happen,” said Oriana, “but we didn’t listen to him.”
“We should have known that this would happen,” said Nancy. “He did say that we wouldn’t succeed.”
“And what were his words exactly?” said Maura.
“The crowd will NOT like you,” Jennifer said with a frown on her face.
“And why did he say that?” said Oriana.
“Because the first show that most musicians put on is NEVER a success,” Jennifer frowned again. “Why are we going over this?”
“Because we haven’t had enough time to actually practice and even if we practiced until our fingers bled and our voices were shot, we never would have been a hit,” said Nancy.
“Yeah,” said Heather. “You know what the problem is? Jennifer always takes everything too seriously.”
“And none of you are taking this music thing seriously at all,” Jennifer snapped back at them. “You guys think this is a game? Well, if it is, then I’m not playing!”
“Well, it was all a bit of fun,” said Lola. “Plus, the tacos and burritos that were being thrown at us were fake.”
“But why did the principal yell at us for causing a riot?” Maura snapped.
“Yeah, we kinda missed that part,” said Keona.
Mr. Cunningham came to them and said, “Well, I saw and heard that you girls bombed at your concert. Are you girls alright?”
“She’s not,” said Lola as she pointed to Jennifer, “but the rest of us are OK.”
Jennifer approached him and snapped, “How could you have done this!”
“Done what?” said Mr. Cunningham.
“You set us up!” Jennifer accused him. “You knew this was going to happen and yet, you forced us to perform anyway!”
“Did I, Jennifer?” said Mr. Cunningham. “Did I?”
“Either you’re a monster or someone pretending to be you did this,” said Jennifer, “and I’m leaning on the former rather than the latter.”
Just then, Maura ran into the room, crying out, “Code Red! Code Red!! We’re in so much trouble now!”
“What happened?” the other girls cried out.
“Davina and Shawnee have returned!” cried Maura. 
“WHAT???” The girls gasped in horror. “But why?”
“I don’t know what happened, but they’re here!” cried Maura. “This is a disaster!”
“I know!” said Jennifer. “Just when you thought it was safe to be at Gothanburg, they show their ugly faces around here!”
“Yeah,” said Nancy. “Rumor has it that some famous African-American sports athlete paid someone to get them out of jail and demanded that they be allowed to graduate with us, as if that’s ever gonna happen.”
“I hope this city puts its foot down and demands that Davina and Shawnee go back to jail,” said Oriana.
“Me too,” said Maura. “I refuse to set another toe in this place until they are gone!”
That had been yesterday. Now, Jennifer was in a huge pickle. She logged onto Jabberstorm and read the following article:
Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
Our Nightmare Has Returned!
It seems that things are too good to be true.
Yesterday, Marlon Link of the Miami Marlins paid the bail money for the two bullies known as D.C. and S.W. and told Principal Datchery that he had better allow D. and S. back into Gothanburg or else he will withdraw monetary support from the school. Well, didn’t he pay attention to the news about the girls having to be dragged out of there by the S.W.A.T. Team? Who does he think he is?
Anyway, the entire African-American community is angry with this and they weren’t afraid to allow their true feelings about the two girls show. Last night, the Bling & Black Jacket Forum was flooded with anger and demands that the girls be put away for good. You know what they say, one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel, and we can’t have two bullying girls destroying an entire community.
In related news, O.H. has taken to singing at the fountain in the middle of downtown Miami. She had a huge jar of money placed next to her by some unknown stranger, and people have been dropping their spare change into it. I hope that O. realizes that singing in the streets is dangerous because there are people out there who prey on seemingly weird girls like you.
Well, I’m off to the protest that’s taking place right now and getting the dirt on D. and S. and their latest schemes. Someone has got to put the brakes on those two and slap Mr. Link with a $2500 fine as well as make him miss a few games in order for him to see that not every child can be saved and some of those children should just stew in their own filth. See you all later!
Jennifer shook her head as she thought about Davina and Shawnee. For many years, those two girls had always made trouble for the Fab Four and bullied the other students, but they always seemed to escape from punishment they rightfully deserved. Most of the teachers simply turned a blind eye and ear to the other children’s complaints, hoping that in keeping Davina and Shawnee in their schools and classrooms, they would appease the African-American community.
After buying two dresses, three pairs of shoes, and a pair of sunglasses, Jennifer drove to the school and saw a huge line of people blocking the front door. What’s going on here, she thought to herself.
“Jen!” Maura saw her and rushed her into the school. “I kept trying to call you and stuff, but you weren’t there! Tell me you didn’t go shopping again!”
“I have to do something,” said Jennifer. “I couldn’t sleep. Plus, you know that Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro are gonna attack me if they see me by myself here.”
“OK, I’ll ignore that,” said Maura, “but I was trying to tell you that there is a protest going on here and classes have been canceled for the day. So, you probably worried for nothing.”
“And what about the principal?” Jennifer asked.
“He’s calling an emergency meeting to discuss this new development,” said Nancy as she approached them, “and we’re wanted in the music room.”
“I wonder why,” Jennifer snapped as the three girls left the protest and went straight to the music room. 
When they came around the corner on the way to the band room, they saw Mia standing at the microphone, Lazaro at the drums, and Claire and Mayra playing the guitars. They were singing a rather stupid song, which went something like this:
Mirror~by Hateful Axe
I met her on the highway ridin' shotgun; / I can still recall that creepy smile she wore;
She was weighted down with Twinkies by the off-ramp, / and I knew that she was rotten to the core;
I knew deep down I'd stay with her forever; / She said to me there was no other guy;
But who'd have thought she'd run off with my best friend; You'd think at least that she'd have said goodbye.
All three girls stood at the door, listening to the four as they attempted to play their instruments. They could not believe the things they were hearing; none of the lyrics made any sense at all, nor did they match the song. They all shook their heads and said as one, “They are never gonna make it in this biz.”
They eventually left the room and continued down the hall. Little did they know that the fake band was going to try to take them down as well…
Chapter 10
“You're kidding, right?” Oriana said after Jennifer, Nancy, and Maura told her about the band that was performing down the hall. A band that consisted of Mia Goff, Claire Sheppard, Mayra Carney, and Lazaro Garner. Those four couldn't play in a band even if their lives depended on it.
“And here I thought it couldn't get worse,” said Jennifer. “What, with the whole “return of the she-bullies” scandal and all. They think that they can just form a band so they can try to outperform us.”
“It would never work,” said Nancy. “They're only doing this for the sake of trying to stop us. Except for Mia, none of them have ever been in an actual school band before, and to be perfectly honest, they're not even gonna succeed. Mia has no patience and very little tolerance of other people, and who knows how on earth Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro actually learned how to play?”
“News from Jabberstorm!” Lola shouted as she directed the girls to a computer that was located in the corner of the music room.
“Whatever it is, it's gonna be bad news for us,” Nancy frowned as the girls stared at the Jabberstorm website:
Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
A rocky start for the new band
Well, yesterday saw the debut of the band Magnificent Trophy and if you didn't catch my previous article about them, I am reblogging it in its entirety:
“Yesterday, the band known as the Magnificent Trophy came to perform at the Gothanburg Academy Cinco de Mayo rally, and we kind of wish that they didn't.
“In fact, their performance leaves much to be desired.
“Well, they did dress more like cheap trophies, as opposed to their name, and their song seemed rather lame. I have posted the lyrics to the song (in English) as well as a video of their rehearsals. How can a band work so hard just to fail? I think there is a conspiracy going on here, as rumors that the band was being set up to fail are swirling around the entire school.
“I'll keep you posted on the band's progress as their musical journey continues.”
Anyway, after recovering from that fluke of a concert and the backlash regarding the article, I'm going to say that yes, the band has had a rather rocky start, but what band hasn't had a rough start? If all band debuts were perfect, then the music world would be a mess, am I right?
Anyway, what the band needs to to is to change their name to something that's a little more appropriate, (please drop the name the Magnificent Trophy, as it does not fit them at all) get some new clothes, get some singing lessons, and for the love of God, STOP trying to rewrite popular songs to suit your own purposes! It's not cool to do that! 
Well, let's hope that the band has taken my advice when they perform at the next rally.
Ta-ta for now!
“Well, isn't this nice,” said Maura. “Yesterday, we were given a very bad review and now, they want us to change our band name and our style of clothes? Who do they think they are?”
“And besides,” said Nancy, “what's wrong with the songs we write?” She pulled out a piece of paper with the lyrics on it. They read:
Fighting the Jackass with Pillows ~ by Magnificent Trophy
In my bedroom, / In my bedroom, we are fighting, / With cushions, and pillows, / And super soakers, and swords.
In my bedroom, / In my bedroom we are cryin', / In my bedroom, / Elliott Kline and me.
We're in my bedroom, in my bedroom, / Elliott Kline and me.
But I'm in so deep, / I'm such a fool for Elliott Kline, / Elliott Kline's got me wrapped around a finger.
Do I have to answer the phone? / Do I have to, do I have to answer the phone?
Oh, I thought the world of Harry Potter. / I thought nothing could go wrong. / But he was a nincompoop, but he was a jackass.
In my bedroom, in my bedroom, / Elliott Kline and me. / We're's in my bedroom, in my bedroom, / Elliott Kline and me.

Living For Chocolate in an Orange Train ~ by Magnificent Trophy
Oh yeah, I'll tell you something, / I think you'll understand. / When I'll say that something, / I want to hold your keys, / I want to hold your keys, / I want to hold your keys.
Oh please, say to me, / You'll let me run a marathon. / And please, say to me, / You'll let me chase the shadows away. / Now let me hold your keys, / I want to hold your keys.
Imagine there's no chairs. / It's easy if you try. / No forks in Cardiff, / Above us only bottles. / Imagine all the people, / Living for chocolate...
You may say I'm a clown, / But I'm not the only one. / I hope someday you'll join us, / And the world will become peaceful.
All you need is a man after midnight. / All you need is a man after midnight. / All you need is a man after midnight, a man after midnight. / A man after midnight is all you need.
We all live in our orange train, / Orange train, orange train, / We all live in our orange train, / Orange train, orange train.
Oh yeah!
Oriana stared at the songs and then crumbled them up and threw them away. 
Nancy and Jennifer stared at her in shock. They had worked hard on those songs and they were hoping to try them out with the band. “Hey, what gives?” Jennifer cried out.  
“Well, I'm looking at your stuff and I can spot several big mistakes,” Oriana snapped at them in anger.
“Such as,” Nancy began.
“You can't even write anything for beans,” Oriana cried out. 
“Ok, Ori, that's enough,” said Jennifer. 
Oriana didn't stop with the lecture; in fact, she tossed out a random poem at them:
Very colorful among the gods~by Oriana Harrell
I am scary about the water / You expel dark snares within the air
Be wary! The twilight will go / All quaking beneath the fog
You feel green noses on the earth/ Awaken, awaken! The Knight will die
Very colorful among the gods / We absorb angry bugs below the mud
Be watchful. The feeling will go / unafraid restless
saying goodbye / any wind that blows
Down what streets / your brother
forget to go home / in the late light 
“That's nice, Ori,” said Maura, “but I have a better one.”
“Oh really?” said Oriana as she glared at her. “I'd *love* to see it.”
“Very well,” said Maura as she pulled out a piece of paper. It read: 
In the City~by Maura Paltrier
Life is a misty car.
Why does the cigarette eat?
The skyscraper runs like a big job.
Stop quickly like a dead driver.
Oriana read the poem and tore it into pieces. “That's not even a real poem,” she snapped.
“Really?” said Maura, “that looked like a poem to me. What? You don't like my poems?”
“I know everything there is to know about poetry,” said Oriana, “and that crap was NOT poetry!”
“Well, since you know so much about poetry, let's see you write an actual song,” Nancy said in disgust. 
“Challenge accepted,” said Oriana. “I do hope you realize that this is futile. I write better than even Claire Sheppard and that's saying a lot.”
“I love to see you try,” said Jennifer. “It'll be worth the looks on their faces once they hear *YOUR* songs.”
“Oh they will,” said Oriana, “and the moment they do, they won't be seeing any fake trophies at all, but a real rock band.”
Mr. Cunningham walked into the room, effectively ending the conversation. He was angry at the fact that school was closed for the day, but he was also very angry with the reception that the band had gotten as well as the principal accusing the girls of causing a riot. He said, “Well, girls, it seems that we may have started out before we were ready, but again, that's how most bands started.”
“But I know that Nickelback didn't start by playing at high school assemblies and people threw fake tacos and burritos at them,” said Maura.
“If anything, I think it was Mia Goff who started this mess,” said Heather. The other girls stared at her. “She never forgave Jen for beating her out at the auditions.”
“Yeah, it had to be her,” said Jennifer. “If it were Davina and Shawnee, we'd be getting pelted by banana peels and empty chocolate milk cartons.”
“We'll deal with her later,” said Mr. Cunningham. “We have more important things to talk about.” The girls all settled themselves into their seats, all anticipating what was going to happen. “The principal has told me about what he wanted for the band, and he wanted you girls to be more...how should we say this…girly.”
“But we're already girly enough,” said Oriana as the other girls nodded. “In fact, we're so girly we don't even like boy things.”
“Indeed,” said Mr. Cunningham, “which is why I'm changing you girls' band name. From now on, you're to be known as the All-American Princesses.”
Now, if THAT didn't catch their attention, it most certainly did.
“Tell me why we have to change our name,” said Maura. She had been the one to come up with the name the Magnificent Trophy. “Why'd you do it?”
“Somehow, I don't think the Magnificent Trophy is a good name for you girls,” said Mr. Cunningham. “To be honest, that sounds more like the name of a book than a rock band.”
“So, what do we tell the school?” said Keona.
“We tell them nothing as of right now,” said Mr. Cunningham. “In fact, we won't be saying anything until the next high school assembly, which is next week.”
“What?” the girls cried out as one. “You mean we're gonna go back out there and perform right after we bombed yesterday?” said Nancy.
“Well, we have to do something,” said Jennifer. “They might want to see us again. And this time, they want a real rock band, not just a bunch of girls who look good and play good. They want us.”
“Indeed they do,” said Lola as she stood up and opened her notebook. The papers rustled as she leafed through the book. She finally pulled out a piece of paper that had a list of songs written.
“So, what have you written down?” said Heather.
“Oh nothing, just some songs that I was thinking about writing for the band,” said Lola, “but with Oriana taking the challenge, I was thinking that she could write them.”
“Maybe she should,” said Keona.
Mr. Cunningham pulled out a sheet of paper and said, “This is the song that you girls will be learning for the school assembly.” The song went like this:
A Pretty Kinda Princess~by The All-American Princesses
You get on with life as a princess, / You're a pretty kinda person. / You like baking cakes on Sundays, / You like singing in a choir in the week. / You like to contemplate the future. / But when you start to daydream, / Your mind turns straight to mush.
Tralala tralala...
Sometimes I look at you and I look into your eyes, / I notice the way you think about pies with a smile, / Curved lips you just can't disguise. / But you think it's riches making your life worthwhile. / Why is it so hard for you to decide which you love more? / Money or... / Me?
You like to use words like 'super,' / You like to use words like 'twizzle.' / You like to use words about money. / But when you stop your talking, / Your mind turns straight to mush.
Tralala tralala...
Sometimes I look at you and I look into your eyes, / I notice the way you think about pies with a smile, / Curved lips you just can't disguise. / But you think it's riches making your life worthwhile. / Why is it so hard for you to decide which you love more? / Money or... / Me?
You like to hang out with Sarah, / You like to kick back with Katy, / But when left alone, / Your mind turns straight to mush.
Tralala tralala...
Sometimes I look at you and I look into your eyes, / I notice the way you think about pies with a smile, / Curved lips you just can't disguise. / But you think it's riches making your life worthwhile. / Why is it so hard for you to decide which you love more? / Money or…/ Me?
You're not too fond of rude people, / You really hate nasty boys, / But you just think back to simplicity, / And you're happy once again.
Tralala tralala…
“That's interesting,” said Jennifer as she stared at the song, but she really didn't want to sing it at all. Not when it dealt with princesses and such. She never liked the princesses from Disney and she absolutely refused to watch the movie “Anastasia” at all.
The other girls all shook their heads, with Oriana saying, “And to think this has happened all because my car got blown up.”
“At least *YOU* didn't get blown up in it,” said Maura.
“And I'm getting really sick and tired of Davina and Shawnee thinking that they can just walk all over us and not get into any trouble,” said Heather.
“Just because they're black doesn't give them the right to bully us, you know,” said Nancy.
“Well, I think we just found our official first song,” said Oriana. She whipped out a pencil and some paper and went striaght to work. The other girls watched in anticipation. Within a few minutes, Oriana had written down the following lyrics:
The Anti-Bully Anthem~by Oriana Harrell
You think you can just push me around, you must be crazy, and also a pig-headed fool / you like to call me names, you are quite stupid, and nothing you can say can change that... / but if you wanna have a go, I'm gonna let you know...
Chorus: Get off of my back and into the books / stay away from me, or I'll punch you in the face / I'm not the kind of girl who you can make fun of and think that it's OK / so you better back off or else you'll get hurt / you better step back unless you like pain / how many times do I have to say it...get off of my back!
Nancy read the song and said, “Well, that was quick. How'd you do it so fast?”
“Easy,” said Oriana, “I just had to conjure up everything we know about Davina and Shawnee and then put the pen to the pad. The rest took care of itself.”
“I'll say,” said Jennifer. “It looks better than what we've done.”
“Indeed,” said Maura. “Now, let's get up on stage and get practicing before he makes us sing another nonsense song.”
The girls took the hint and quickly grabbed their instruments. Just as they were getting ready to perform, Mr. Cunningham noticed them on stage and said, “I take it you girls are ready to perform?”
“Indeed,” said Jennifer, “but to be honest, we're not gonna perform A Pretty Kinda Princess.”
“We're not?” said Mr. Cunningham.
“In fact, we're gonna perform something that Oriana made up,” said Nancy. “Shall we?”
“Let's,” said Maura.
The song:
Jennifer: You think you can just push me around, you must be crazy, and also a pig-headed fool / you like to call me names, you are quite stupid, and nothing you can say can change that...
Jennifer & Nancy: but if you wanna have a go, I'm gonna let you know...
Chorus: Get off of my back and into the books / stay away from me, or I'll punch you in the face / I'm not the kind of girl who you can make fun of and think that it's OK / so you better back off or else you'll get hurt / you better step back unless you like pain / how many times do I have to say it...get off of my back!
Jennifer: How can you call name-calling fun when it hurts others and makes them plot your downfall / you think that you're so cool that we must love you, but we don't want you around at all...
Jennifer & Nancy: So if you wanna mess with me, you're gonna learn right now...
Chorus: Get off of my back and into the books / stay away from me, or I'll punch you in the face / I'm not the kind of girl who you can make fun of and think that it's OK / so you better back off or else you'll get hurt / you better step back unless you like pain / how many times do I have to say it...get off of my back!
(brief guitar solo)
Nancy: So the next time you make fun of me, I'm gonna reach out and slap your face / then you will know once and for all that I will not stand for your crap at all...
Jennifer & Nancy: So if you wanna have a go, I'm gonna let you know...
Chorus: get off of my back and into the books / stay away from me, or I'll punch you in the face / I'm not the kind of girl who you can make fun of and think that it's OK / so you better back off or else you'll get hurt / you better step back unless you like pain / how many times do I have to say it...get off of my back! Get off of my back! Get off of my back! I don't care what you think, do, or say, just get off of my back!
Mr. Cunningham sat in his seat with his jaw on the floor; he had no idea that the girls were able to pull off something like that at all. Not as far as he was concerned.
He said, “How on earth did you girls come up with this?”
“Well, unless you've had problems dealing with bullies, you won't be able to understand the meaning of the song,” said Oriana. “Plus, knowing that I have drawn it from my own experiences and trying to make it relatable to the other students will make this song popular.”
“I see,” said Mr. Cunningham, “but may I suggest something a little pop music?”
“No way!” said the girls. Jennifer said, “Rock music is all about rebellion. Not letting anyone tell you what to do. Sticking it to the man. You know that back in the 1970's, the Runaways was a group of girls who decided to break the rules when it came to rock music. Back then, no one wanted to see a woman in front of a microphone, but they wanted them in the kitchens. Well, Joan Jett and Cherie Currie said “no” to that stereotype and became rebels. Or do you not know that?”
“I have heard their music back then and even then, I still didn't understand why they had to turn their back on their…girlishness.”
“Because dressing us as little pop princesses isn't cool anymore,” said Maura. “It may have worked for Candice Cane Brenner, but it's not gonna work for us. We are the generation that longs to break free from the past and embrace the future, and we can't do that if they want us to be cute little pop stars.”
“Well,” said Mr. Cunningham, but Nancy continued, “And I'm sure that your Leilar Dara was willing to fight against the evils of the White man's culture and his method of making music and make his mark on the world. Surely you must have known that.”
“I will admit that I have seen him back in his heyday,” said Mr. Cunningham, “and I have seen him be dubbed “the Anti-Elvis”. In fact, I know the lyrics to The Day That Pepsi Beat Up the King of Pop.”
“Really?” said Jennifer. She shuddered, knowing that Mr. Cunningham was older than she'd thought. He had to be about 30 years old or something like that. Not that she was attracted to him (what a scandal it would be if it were to happen), but she knew that Roxanne had to be around the same age. After all, no woman would be that destroyed before her 30th year, and Roxanne was no different. 
Jennifer then thought about Alene, and how she would never be able to leave jail or see her kids again. She knew her aunt was so upset at her poor decisions and had written scores of letters begging Jennifer to never repeat her mistakes. Jennifer worried about ending up like Alene or Roxanne and forced herself to work hard so that she would never even plan to go down their path.
That night, Jennifer found herself sitting at the dinner table at Nicholas's apartment. Nicholas had told her that under no circumstances was she to attempt to get out of the dinner. Addison smirked as he stared at his sister; he knew that they had stopped getting along when the divorce happened. Jennifer glared at her brother until their grandmother slapped her hands on the table.
“That woman is no good, Nicholas!” Genna Warrington snapped at her only child. The kids stared at her. “She's going to destroy your family before the year is out if you go through with this marriage!”
“And how do you know that?” said Nicholas. “You and dad divorced when I was 18 years old.”
“Allen Reeves told me that Roxanne works at that strip club,” Genna growled at him. 
“Allen Reeves is a liar,” said Nicholas. 
“So tell me why you had to leave Karen and take up with that crazy woman?” Genna asked. “You do know that she tried to put a knife under your ribs.”
“Ok, so I deserved that,” said Nicholas. “I should have known better than to mention Jen and Addison to Tamara.”
“You deserve nothing but the best, Nicholas,” said Genna, “but she's not the best. Karen is.”
“And you do realize that when Karen began trying to control me and the kids, I had to get myself out of there,” said Nicholas. “But I can't get the kids out because Karen's family will get on my case and accuse me of kidnapping Jen and Addison and turning them against their mother.”
“Indeed,” said Genna. “But I must ask you this: how far are you willing to go to get what you want?”
Jennifer caught the question as she continued to pass the food around on her plate. She knew what the answer to her question was, but the real question was, when she did get what she wanted, was it going to be enough for her?
Even then, she didn't know the answer to the question.
Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
As Low As Dirt is How Far the Wicked Shall Fall…
Today, we can safely say that D. and S. won't be darkening any classrooms anymore. 
Principal Datchery has agreed to allowing the girls to be in the school, just as long as they don't interact with the other students. But don't write them off just yet; I have a feeling that those two girls will be planning something big before the week is out.
Also, did you know that M.G., C.S., M.C., and L.G. have formed a band? Me neither! But a video of them playing some instruments and singing some stupid country song has surfaced online, and Jabberstorm was quick to grab the video. Apparently, M., C., M., AND L., call themselves the Hateful Axe and if you want my honest opinion, I don't think that these kids are going to make it in the music world. They cannot play the guitar. They cannot dance. They cannot sing. Even M.G., who wanted to be a Broadway star before she was cut down at the audition, was just flat-out no good and had no real musical talent. Now you know why she isn't part of the school's rock band.
When the Hateful Axe performed "Moist Flower", I felt myself growing sick. The song "Mirror", which was featured in the video, just made me angry. And by the time they performed "Rancid Parasites" I felt like kicking a snake.
I want those four kids to just give up now, as whatever they're doing, it's not music. It's noise. I'll be right back after I got to the doctor to have my ears looked at; they hurt from the so-called "noise" that was being made.

Chapter 11
Jennifer was taking to getting up extremely early and going to the karaoke bar before school. It was a rather bad habit, one that needed to be nipped in the bud before it got worse.
She remembered calling Oriana last night and hearing her complain about how her (foster) parents were being rather unreasonable in terms of child protection and whatnot. To be fair, both girls knew the truth behind the car bombing, but neither of them wanted to give out their opinion about it, lest Claire and Mayra were to find out that someone squealed on them and decided to get their revenge on them. Jennifer wasn't about to deal with those girls at all, not if it could be helped.
"Of all the idiotic things that I have to deal with, this was the worst of them," said Oriana as she sat at Jen's table at the bar. "I mean, can you believe the crap that they are pulling? So what if Davina and Shawnee blew up my car? I wasn't like they wouldn't blow up anyone else's car."
"I know, right?" said Jennifer. "I'm so sure that there's someone out there whose car would be blown up by those two. But the way the media sensationalized it, making it look like they were targeting you mainly because of your disability, was just insulting."
"Indeed," said Oriana as she stared at the microphone. "Maybe there's a way that we can legally react to the news that'll make people think."
They clamored onto the stage as a song began to play…
High School Headlines (to the tune of "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Headline News", which was also a parody of the Crash Test Dummies's 1993 hit "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm")
Oriana: Once there were two dumb girls who one day / decided that it cool to blow up someone else's car / But little did they know that someone else was watching them / and you won’t believe it, they got caught in the act / So now they've gone and destroyed the car / and now they're serving hard time in prison / Tell me, how did it come to this?
Jennifer & Oriana: Mmm mmm mmm mmm, mmm mmm mmm mmm [smack] OW!
Jennifer: Once there was this girl up in California who / was trying to get out of working on a project with the class bully / when she spotted her baby picture on a missing child poster at McDonald's / now who'd thought that her parents would kidnap her and / how did she recognize her own baby picture / now she's all over the news once again / So tell me, why should we give a crap about this at all?
Jennifer & Oriana: Mmm mmm mmm mmm, mmm mmm mmm mmm [smack] OW! Mmm mmm mmm mmm, mmm mmm mmm mmm / now she's got her story all over the press and she's also getting the big movie rights…and what about the other children who are never coming home?
Oriana: And then there was a man who was a big rock star / until someone revealed a dirty secret about him on the radio / they say that he was more than gay and he despised families / and before you know it, he fell so hard that it was nigh impossible for him to get back up again / now we're all dying to know why couldn't we let him live his life?
Jennifer & Oriana: Mmm mmm mmm mmm, mmm mmm mmm mmm / Mmm mmm mmm mmm, mmm mmm mmm mmm / what is going on with this world that we gotta do bad things to each other? / Who do we have to become in order to get respect? / I say [smack] OW! that we must [smack] OW! give up what makes us us [smack] OW! OW! how can [smack] OW! we live [smack] OW! with the knowledge that people hate us [smack] OW! OW! this world [smack] OW! has got [smack] OW! to stop this right now [smack] OW! this world [smack] OW! has got [smack] OW! to stop this right now [smack] OW! this world [smack] OW! has got [smack] OW! to stop this right now [smack] OW!
Little did they know that Davina was standing in the audience listening to the song. It was already bad enough that the girls had the nerve to humiliate her and call her out on her bull, and it was also hard with her having to deal with getting arrested and dragged to jail with practically everyone and their mother watching, but to be made fun of in this fashion was insulting to her and not only that, everyone around her was shaking their heads and muttering to themselves.
"This can't be happening," she muttered to herself. "I can't believe those bitches would do this to me! I was their friend and they rejected me. I'm going to make them pay for this."
At first, she thought about smashing the karaoke machine into pieces, but thought better of it. She had destroyed some equipment before and was busted by the Fab Four. She could do it now and not get caught. But then she noticed that Oriana and Jennifer were part of the Fab Four and if she smashed the karaoke machine in front of them, they wouldn't hesitate to point her out as a criminal. And if she smashed the karaoke machine in front of the audience, they wouldn't hesitate to call the police and have her arrested.
She stormed away from the bar, knowing that she would be getting her revenge on the girls later on. 

"You know there's a problem when you begin mistreating other students," said Mrs. Linton as she addressed Davina and Shawnee. They were sitting in her office, as she had wanted to speak to them bout their behavior. "I know that you two have been causing all kinds of undue trouble for your teachers and fellow students, but it's not anything that we can't fix."
Davina and Shawnee remained in their seats; they really didn't feel like listening to the school counselor right now, but they knew that if they didn't, the principal would gladly send them back to prison.
And if that happened, then there was no one in the world that would be able to get them out of jail again.
Mrs. Linton continued, "I know you two have been in and out of the principal's office and have gotten nothing more than a slap on the wrist while the people you bullied received detention or suspension. This is very unacceptable and I will not have this as long as I'm in the school."
"So, what you gonna do about it?" Davina snapped at her.
"I recommend some very aggressive therapy for you," said Mrs. Linton. "You have destroyed the school's good name with your antics. I had never seen anyone like you two before and I know for a fact that you two must change right now. I'll see you later for lunch."
Davina and Shawnee were escorted to the detention room while Maura was called in. Mrs. Linton said to her, "And do you know why you're in here?"
"Why do you ask?" said Maura.
"I have received word that you have deliberately ignored your father and refused to stay with him though you were ordered to," said Mrs. Linton.
"And you should know why," said Maura. "My father ceased to be my father when he walked away from our family and go live with another man. So if I don't want to see him, he brought it upon himself. Besides, my mother is gonna get out of jail and when that happens, we're gonna sue him for all the money that he has."
"I see," said Mrs. Linton. "I would like to recommend that you and your entire family undergo family therapy and sort out your issues. Douglass Paltrier was my old classmate when I attended here and to see his family reject him because of a poor choice is quite hurtful indeed."
"You think I'mma reconcile with my father?" Maura snapped at her. "You must be outta your mind! I'll forgive him only when I'm dead!"
She stormed out of the room as Addison stood at the door. He said, "What happened?"
"Don't ask," said Maura as she raced off to the library.
Addison sighed and went into the office. Mrs. Linton said to him, "And I believe that you are responsible for Claire Sheppard and Mayra Carney being in my office."
"Well, they were gonna jump my sister," Addison said in turn. "No one is allowed to mess with Jennifer, and especially not those crazies."
"There's your problem," said Mrs. Linton said to him. Addison glared at her. "Referring to Claire and Mayra as "crazies" hurts their feelings and makes them feel like they are less of a human being."
"But it's the truth!" Addison snapped as he slammed his hands on the desk. "You don't know what it's like to have two crazy people in your classes and you certainly don't know how to deal with them at all."
"You're right," said Mrs. Linton. "Back when I was your age, there was no disabled person allowed in at of the classrooms here. But Colette Ernshaw changed that."
"Who?" said Addison.
"You may know her as the activist who slammed Andrea Muty for her role in the controversial movie The Gold Octopus, in which she played the part of Eden Paradox. The movie was an adult film and Andrea was only 12 years old when she played that part," said Mrs. Linton.
"Indeed," said Addison. "And why do I need to know this?"
"Because Colette came here as a sophomore and the principal of the school absolutely refused to allow her entry," said Mrs. Linton. "But Coleman Ernshaw was very wealthy and donated some of his money to GothanburgAcademy, so they had to allow her into the school. I saw how the students mistreated her and abused her because of her mental disability. But she refused to give up and she eventually won the reluctant respect of the students there."
"So what does she have to do with Claire and Mayra?" said Addison. "Colette was genuinely disabled, but those two girls are just acting crazy. I really wish they would just stop that right now or else someone is really gonna hurt them."
"Maybe you need to meet with them and tell them that," said Mrs. Linton. "I recommend that you meet with them once a week. Is that fair?"
"Well, don't expect me to be nice to them or anything like that," said Addison. "They made my life a living nightmare for many years and I don't want to become friends with them at all." He stood up and left the office, leaving the high school counselor high and dry.

"Jen, you won't believe what I found on Jabberstorm," said Nancy.
The girls were in the library, where they were supposed to be working on their English projects. As you may recall, Jennifer had Anne Rice, Nancy had Ursula K. Le Guin, Maura had Toni Morrison, and Oriana had J.R.R. Tolkien. Furious at having been interrupted from doing her work, Jennifer said, "All right, Nance. "What is going on here?"
"This!" said Nancy as she pointed to the computer where she was working. "You really gotta see this!"
"All right, all right, I'm coming!" Jennifer cried out as she approached Nancy's computer. "What do you have to show me?"
"This," said Nancy as she logged onto Jabberstorm...
Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
News About the Going-ons at GothanburgAcademy becomes a song
In a rather astonishing twist, J.W. and O.H. were spotted at the Krakens' Hall Karaoke Bar singing a rather messed-up rendition of "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Headline News". It would have been funny if the lyrics weren't so similar to what just happened last week. Here's a clip from the song: "Once there were two dumb girls who one day / decided that it cool to blow up someone else's car / But little did they know that someone else was watching them / So now they've gone and destroyed the car / and they're serving hard time in prison / Tell me, how did it come to this?"
Well, if that doesn't remind you of D.C. and S.W.'s little bullying act that landed them in jail and the front page of the Miami Herald, then I don't know what will. But D. and S.'s reputations are officially on the line, as everyone now knows what they've done and why they've done it. Even scores of African-American celebrities who would have cone to their aid are ashamed of them due to their act and rumors are spreading that the notorious documentary filmmaker Bailey Bennett is now revoking D.'s scholarship, which would have gotten her into a film school. Sorry, D., but you know what they say...don't give them an inch because they'll take you for a mile.
Speaking of O., did you know that the Maggerly Publishing Company has apparently signed her to a poetry book deal? She's not even 18 yet and already getting published? Since when did O. write poetry? We here at Jabberstorm hardly get to read her poems and yet they think she's good enough to get them published? That's not fair!
And as for the Magnificent Trophy, they have changed their name to the more appropriate-sounding "All-American Princesses". Also, their newest song, "The Anti-Bully Anthem, is available for viewing on the Jabberstorm website. But don't even think about listening to anything that the Hateful Axe has composed, as their music sucks and their songs are not very good. Anyway, the All-American Princesses are going to be performing at next week's rally, so let's wish them all good luck!
Jennifer said, "How did they know about our song?"
"Who knows?" said Nancy. "I'm just glad that it wasn't "A Pretty Kinda Princess". Who knows what would have happened to us if that song ever surfaced on the Internet."
"Not that," said Jennifer. "The Headlines song Oriana and I made up. How did they find out about that?"
"Maybe someone picked up a video camera and recorded you guys singing," said Nancy. "Who knows why this happened?"
"I'm just relieved that we're not known for our crappy music and the Hateful Axe are. I mean, even their band name is stupid. Hateful Axe? Come on! Even my uncle could come up with a better name than that!"
"People really shouldn't be forming a band and making music if they're gonna be so bad," said Maura, who had overheard them. "I mean, how can Mia do that? And especially with three people that no one in the school likes?"
"We did hear Mr. Cunningham tell her point bank to forget having a career in Broadway," said Oriana, "but guess what? She did it anyways. She must be blind as to not knowing that associating with Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro is gonna kill whatever future that she has left."
"Well it doesn't matter, because she's finished," said Jennifer. She glanced to the side, hoping that Mia wasn't in the library at al. She then said, "I wonder if we should report her to the authorities."
"Are you sure?" said Oriana. "Is it legal to arrest someone for producing bad music?"
"Well, last year, Antonio Sheills was arrested in Iowa for producing a bad novel," said Maura. "In fact, a judge had forbid him to write another story until he took it down and completely reworked it until he himself approved of it."
"And that's what led to him writing "Legend of the Warrior", which became one of the best-selling fantasy series this year," said Nancy. 
"Indeed," said Jennifer. "But even all the rewriting of the songs won't do much for Mia and her band. And how will it happen, especially if the people on Jabberstorm are telling the public to hate the Hateful Axe and to love our band. Isn't that funny?"
"Indeed it is," said Maura as they continued to work on their project.

Earlier in the story, we had Heather, Keona, and Lola finding some money on the football field during gym class and the girls hiding the money in Keona's gym bag. Let's see what they plan to do with the money...
The girls were sitting at a table in the library talking about what to do with the money they had found the last week. Heather said, "I say we should go on a shopping spree. I really do need a new outfit to wear to the rally."
"I don't know about that," said Lola. "Maybe we should turn it in."
"Absolutely not," said Keona. "You'll never know who might claim the money. It could be a gangster, or someone from the mob. We just can't risk it at all."
Lola reached into the bag of money and pulled out a piece of paper that was hidden in the bag. "What was that?" said Heather. 
Keona opened the paper and it read: "We pledge to destroy Jennifer Warrington by using any means necessary; we shall do whatever it takes to intimidate, assault, and even kidnap and/or murder her for everything that she has done to us over the years. But if we are caught or anyone suspects us, we will blame Davina Castenada and Shawnee Wenlock and we will produce fake evidence that will place them at the scene of any crime that has happened to Jennifer. 
"We sign our names and will use this money to make a quick getaway in case we are caught and no one believes our alibis about Davina and Shawnee."
"Find anything interesting?" said Heather.
"Yes," said Keona. "Check out the signatures on this paper." The names on the paper read "Mia Goff, Claire Sheppard, Mayra Carney, and Lazaro Garner."
"Oh my God," said Lola. "I knew it! Davina and Shawnee were set up by those guys! We got to tell Jen!"
They stuffed the money back into the bag and rushed to the table where Jennifer, Nancy, Maura, and Oriana were sitting and doing homework.
They stuffed the money back into the bag and rushed to the table where Jennifer, Nancy, Maura, and Oriana were sitting and doing homework. Jennifer looked up and stared at them, saying, "And why are you guys here? Aren't you aware that this is study hall?"
"You need to see this," said Heather as she shoved the note under Jennifer's notes. The note was written and signed by Mia, Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro. "They've been plotting against you since Columbine," said Keona.
"Also, they're planning to frame Davina and Shawnee if anything happens to you," said Lola.
Jennifer read the note and said, "I don't believe this."
"I know," said Nancy. "They really stepped in this big time."
"And if this note is true, then everything we ever thought about Davina and Shawnee are lies," said Maura.
"So why'd they do it?" said Oriana.
"Who knows?" said Lola. "They were planning to hurt Jennifer since Columbine. But so far, all they have done in terms of that was blow up your car."
"Indeed," said Oriana. "We should turn this into the police station. I mean, why would they have over $100,000 in cash?"
"To flee in case Jennifer ends up dead or incapacitated," said Keona. "Plus, they planned to frame Davina and Shawnee, knowing that most of the city would be quick to blame them for in case something like this happened."
"Whatever happened to if you can’t say anything nice, don't say anything at all?" said Oriana. "We really need to stop them now while we can."
"Whatever happened to If you can’t say anything nice, don't say anything at all?" said Oriana. "We really need to stop them now while we can."
They gathered their things and left the library, making sure to hurry and get to the principal's office before someone else could stop them. Along the way, the girls spotted Mia, Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro sitting out on the school's pool deck. "Got to keep it quiet, lest they see us," said Maura.
Mia looked up and saw some shadows through the school's painted Plexiglas walls. The walls were painted in a way that no one outside could see in, and no one inside could see out. She shook her head and went back to her group.
By the time the girls reached Mr. Datchery's office, he was speaking on the phone to some person who probably wanted Davina and Shawnee to remain in GothanburgAcademy. His face was turning a dull red color as he berated the celebrity for refusing to show any concern for the safety of the other students in the school. "You are asking for another Columbine-style school shooting," said Datchery as he stood up in anger. "And when that happens, I'll revoke your membership in the Miami Bay Golf Club!"
He slammed down the phone as Jennifer walked into the room. "What is it now, Miss Warrington?" he snapped as soon as he saw her. "Shouldn't you be in the library studying?"
"Well, I would, if I didn't find $100,000 and a note detailing plans to kill me and blame Davina and Shawnee for the deed in the library," said Jennifer.
Datchery took the note and read it. "I see," he said. "Now get back to the library; I'll deal with the culprits." Jennifer nodded and went back to the group, saying, "They're in so much trouble now!"
"I hope so," said Maura. "I hate to be Mia when her biggest secret comes out."
Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of study hall and time for lunch. "We'll have to continue this some other time," said Nancy. "Right now, let's go see if this ends up on Jabberstorm."
And as the girls left the office, Jennifer said, "Well, I'll be right back, as I'm gonna hit the store that's right across the street for the school. Got to get ready for next week's rally."
"Indeed," said Nancy. "You always gotta spend the money." 
Jennifer nodded as she left the group; she needed to take care of some things, business that the other girls didn’t need to know about.

In the courtroom, Claudia, Karen, and Susan were facing Erwin Salazar, who was the judge in Susan's case. He said, "I have reviewed your case and can safely determine that there was no crime that took place."
"That's good," said Lorena Nix, who was Susan's lawyer. "However, I am recommending that my client file a motion to sue Blanche Brixby for kidnapping, false imprisonment, and defamation of character."
"That can be arranged," said the judge. "I hereby release Susan Paltrier and grant her permanent full custody of her daughters, Maura and Maisie, with no visitation from her former husband, Douglass Paltrier."
After the hearing was over, Susan said, "I should be thanking you for finding someone other than Pierre to help me, but I know it's not over yet. Doug will try to take the girls away from me."
"He'll never claim your daughters," said Lorena. "I'll pull out whatever stops I can to make sure that he doesn't even see them on their birthdays."
"Also, when he left me and went to stay with David Clay, he rescinded all rights of custody and visitation," said Susan. She had had a very bitter divorce and custody battle a few years before; unlike Karen, Susan had made sure that her children were kept away from her husband. "So, what do we do now?"
"We work on our next strategy, which is getting Maura to college and making sure that Doug isn't allowed to visit her there," said Karen. "You're lucky you have someone who is willing to listen to you; I tried to do the same thing with Nicholas and Genna put an end to that immediately. She has some serious nerve with her claims that I tried to keep her son away from her."
"She needs to see the inside of a nursing home," said Claudia. "Her behavior is quite deplorable. Even my parents don't behave as she does."
The women climbed into Karen's car and drove away from the courthouse, where they planned to go to Ella Lovett's house for tea. Ella was quite furious because her foster daughter's car was blown up by Davina and Shawnee and she was sure that the two bullies had targeted Oriana because of her apparent mental disability. No one was allowed to dispute the facts, and no one was allowed to speak in the girls' defense.
"I do hope that Ella keeps herself calm this time," said Susan. "You know how she gets about things. If she were to show up at the school, it'll be over for those two."
"Even if they didn't blow up the car, you know Ella's going to make up some kind of excuse to have those girls jailed," said Karen. "I worry for the fate of the school if that were to happen. 
"Even if they didn't blow up the car, you know Ella's going to make up some kind of excuse to have those girls jailed," said Karen. "I worry for the fate of the school if that were to happen."
"Not that anything didn't happen already," said Claudia. "Davina and Shawnee were dragged out of the school by the S.W.A.T. Team a few days ago."
"I see," said Susan. "It was all over the news. And I'm guessing that the black community was all on top of the principal, demanding that he let the girls go?"
"No," said Karen. "In fact, the opposite happened. When some baseball player paid the officers to let the girls go and send them home, there was such an uproar over that incident that it shut down the school yesterday."
"I do wonder what the girls are thinking about this," said Susan. "I hate to be them and have to witness this happening."

At the same time that the mothers were meeting, Nancy, Maura, and Oriana were sitting in the cafeteria, just listening to the going-on's of the school. Apparently, Heather and Lola had started a rumor that Mia, Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro were behind Oriana's car explosion. The rumors were bound to reach the principal's ears soon."
"Even if it was them who did this, Davina and Shawnee aren't exactly off the hook," said Maura. "There's still the part about them intimidating the students and disrupting the class with their awful behavior."
"Well, I haven't seen anything about the Hateful Foursome on Jabberstorm yet," said Nancy. "In fact, I highly doubt that this piece will ever be released."
"I can see the headlines "Bullies Use Crazies to Cover up their Wicked Deeds" on Jabberstorm very soon," said Oriana. 
Jennifer waved to them through the window. "That's our cue to leave," said Nancy. They gathered their things and went to the music room, where the other three girls were practicing. Jennifer said, "So, how did things go?" 
"Well, Heather and Lola started that rumor about the Hateful Foursome," said Nancy, "and while we're hoping that the principal finds out about the rumors, I highly doubt that Davina and Shawnee will be off the hook regarding Oriana."
"I know," said Jennifer. "I bet that if anything, those two will never get out of jail. Ori's mom has a way of keeping people in jail, even if they never did anything wrong in their lives."
Just then, Mr. Cunningham walked into the room, saying, "I am going to being practice a bit early, seeing as you girls aren't very good at handling hecklers." He had brought in several trashcans filled with empty soda cans and apple cores. "Therefore, this practice will simulate an actual concert and the crowd will pelt you with trash."
"Didn't they do that to us at the Cinco de Mayo rally?" said Nancy.
"I bet it was Mia who planned that," said Oriana.
"We'll get her back, eventually," said Maura.
"Ok," said Cunningham. "Girls, get to your instruments while I gather the volunteers for this session." Jennifer stared out the door as the other girls went to the stage; she cringed as she saw the number of students who were coming down the hall. Addison was among them.
"Well, that’s just freaking great!" Jennifer snapped as she went to the microphone. "My brother's here."
"I know," said Maura. "He had some nerve to criticize us when we auditioned for the band."
"And now he's gonna heckle us to death," said Jennifer. "Why can't he just leave us alone?"
"Ok, ladies, here's the thing," said Mr. Cunningham as the students took their seats. "You girls are going to be performing the song "Righteo" and as you're playing, the kids in the audience will be throwing rotten trash at you."
"Why are you doing this to us?" said Maura.
"Because they don't want you girls to perform on stage," said Mr. Cunningham. "In fact, they would rather have some normal, boring, not-rich girls on stage than a group of filthy-rich princesses. But you are to fight back…"
"By throwing the trash back at them?" said Lola.
"No, you just keep performing," said Mr. Cunningham. "Your instruments are the weapons used in the war against silence. You are to shield each other against the hecklers who will try to silence you."
He took the trash cans and lined them a few feet from the stage. To the other kids, he said, "As soon as the band begins to perform, you are to throw the stuff at them and say some insults. However, I implore you to keep the insults clean, as the principal tells me that you kids are saying so many vulgar and demonic things to each other in the classroom."
To the girls, he said, "You ready?"
"I think so," said Jennifer even though she was relieved that she wasn't singing the lyrics to "A Pretty Kinda Princess", but she was angry that the band had to perform "Righteo". 
"Begin!" said Mr. Cunningham.
The song: 
You get on with life as an estate agent, / You're a yummy kind of person. / You like playing computer games and collecting stamps. / You like to contemplate philosophy. / But when you start to daydream, / Your mind turns straight to mush.
Jennifer and Nancy didn't even get to the end of the first verse before the boos began, but they forced themselves to keep going.
You like to use words like 'righteo' and 'beerage.' / You like to use words about philosophy. / But when you stop your talking, / Your mind turns straight to mush.
Very soon, someone in the audience tossed a can onto the stage. It landed a few feet from Nancy, but Jennifer grabbed her shoulder. They had to keep going.
You like to hang out with Mike and Will. / But when left alone, / Your mind turns straight to mush.
You hate dangerous driving and ants. / But you just think back to mush, / And you're happy once again.
At this point, Jennifer stared out the corner of her eye and saw Addison smirk at her before he launched a banana peel at her. Then the rest of the fake audience followed suit. Maura gasped as an apple core nearly missed her head and landed next to Lola. She picked it up and threw it back into the audience. 
"Again!" said Mr. Cunningham.
Nancy snapped, "I'm tired of this! Can’t they stop throwing stuff at us?"
"No," said Jennifer. "They want us to quit singing. We can't give them the satisfaction of knowing that they booed us off the stage, now can we?"
"Maybe we should do "A Pretty Kinda Princess" and sing it so badly that they will want to heckle us more," said Oriana.
"Maybe we should," said Nancy. "After all, the song sucks."
"And if we do a song that sucks, that’ll wear them out," Maura.
"Begin!" said Mr. Cunningham.
Jennifer and Nancy took their places at the microphones and the band began to play the song. Once again, the audience began to throw stuff at them. A soda can was aimed at Nancy's head, but Jennifer swatted it away and kept going. Mr. Cunningham said, "Ok, let's turn up the heat!"
Soon, the band was getting pelted by the trash and this time, the band began fighting back. Maura went to protect Keona while Oriana stood in front of Lola. They and Heather used the tops of their guitars to hit the rotten food back towards the audience. Jennifer and Nancy found themselves slapping at the trash and it went right back towards the audience. 
Soon, the band was getting pelted by the trash and this time, the band began fighting back. Maura went to protect Keona while Oriana stood in front of Lola. They and Heather used the tops of their guitars to hit the rotten food back towards the audience. Jennifer and Nancy found themselves slapping at the trash and it went right back towards the audience.
But it wasn't enough, as the practice session went on for two more hours before Mr. Cunningham released the students for the day. He glanced to the side, hoping that none of the girls were angry with him for this rather humiliating exercise. The door swung opened and then Mr. Valenzuela walked into the room. He said, "I could hear you guys playing from down the hall; it was so loud that I had to cancel the glee club meeting."
"Well, I'm sorry that you can't appreciate originality," said Mr. Cunningham.
"I see," said Mr. Valenzuela. 
"And in the future, it would be nice to not have the glee club meeting during the band's practice times," said Mr. Cunningham. "And unless you want those video tapes of your little glee group exposed, you will not interfere in our lessons."
Mr. Valenzuela mumbled to himself as he left the band room. Jennifer frowned as she watched him leave, not noticing that he wasn't upset with her for dropping out of the glee club. He was more upset with Mr. Cunningham than he was with her. 
On the other hand, how did Mr. Cunningham know about the video tapes? Jennifer was sure that he might have snooped around the school and uncovered them. She shook her head; Mr. Cunningham wasn't as bad as he appeared to be, not if he was whipping them into shape. But that didn't mean that she wasn't still angry with him for destroying the All-Knighters.
As Jennifer left the room, she frowned as she saw someone standing to the side of the door. It was Mia Goff. Jennifer saw her and said to her, "I see and hear that you've also decided to start a band."
"Yeah," said Mia. "And what about it? They wouldn't let me join your band, so I made up my own. How dare they not recognize my talent!"
"Well, judging by the fact that you sang "Don't Make Me Dance" every year in the talent show, the judges pretty much grew tired of hearing that song," said Jennifer. "They wanted something new, fresh, and exciting. That's why I won the part and you didn't."
"I see," said Mia as she glared at Jennifer. "And you better be careful not to get too big for your stilettos. The minute they even begin to think that you're better than me, I and my three band mates are gonna knock you do so hard that you'll never want to get back up again. And that'll be a shame too, seeing that everyone always looks to you as being my successor. So don't you even try."
She wasn't as nice as she had always appeared to be. And to think that we were once friends, Jennifer thought to herself as she went home for the day. How can Mia threaten me like this? I mean, sure she's always gonna think that she's #1, but I've always been better than her. Who does that whiny brat think she is, anyway? Why does she think that the world should love her? If anything, the world should hate her for being so abstinently cruel towards everyone else who might have had a chance to succeed in the theater world, but she kept them from passing through the gates to Broadway. How can she be so cruel?
Little did she know that the moment that Mr. Cunningham spoke about the video tapes, Jennifer knew that her days were numbered...
Chapter 12 (Middle of the Story)
It was now 1:30 A.M. and everyone was asleep except for Jennifer. She knew that Mia had to have sabotaged the band's first debut at the Cinco De Mayo rally and she had chosen to associate herself with three other people who did not like her and wanted something bad to happen to her.
It was now one week since the failed debut and since that, Mr. Cunningham had made the girls perform under all kinds of undue pressure, such as hecklers, crazed fans, and even an audience that was about to walk out on them. And in those situations, Jennifer could tell that one false move from any member of the band could mean the end of the band for good.
Mia knows not what she is doing then she chose to make me her enemy, Jennifer thought to herself as she got out of bed and turned on the light. One day, her stupidity will be brought to light and when that happens, there will be nowhere in this world where she can't run to and no one hasn't heard of her bad deeds, except for maybe Africa.
She lined up three outfits; one was a dark green kimono with light pink designs while another outfit was an old-fashioned green sailor suit with yellow trim. The third outfit was a stylish pink tunic with a short pink skirt. Which one was she going to wear to the concert?
For the next few hours, Jennifer alternated between choosing her outfits, doing her research paper, and trying to figure out what to do about Davina and Shawnee. Sure the girls have bullied the Fab Four as well as many other students, but is it really fair for them to go through what they're going through just because a bunch of crazies want to pick on me and only me, she thought to herself.
She picked up the phone and dialed Maura's phone number; mayhaps Maura would have some advice for her.
"Tell me why I'm beginning to think our band scheme isn't working?" Maura said to Jennifer as soon as she picked up the phone.
"Well, who knows?" said Jennifer. "What if the band is actually bringing out the worst in all of us rather than the best in all of us?"
"That's what I'm afraid of," said Maura. "Had this idea not come when it had, what would we be doing now?"
"Dodging Davina and Shawnee like everyone else instead of wondering if Mia, Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro are up to something," said Jennifer. "And we both know that that's no good. Not as far as Ori's concerned."
"Why?" said Maura.
"Because Ori emailed me a few hours ago with this rather crazy idea that the crazies want her out of our group and for her to join them," said Jennifer.
"Like she's ever gonna join them," said Maura. "Not when THEY blew up her car."
"What a shame," said Jennifer. "I wonder what's gonna happen to them when those Harper Bay students start spreading rumors that they saw the crazies sticking the fireworks in Ori's car."
"Indeed," said Maura.
Jennifer hung up the phone and packed her things; within a few hours, she would be stumbling into geography class almost late once again because she was hiding from the Crazies. I can't keep doing this, she said to herself. I can't just hide from them. But if I go and get help, the teachers will dismiss my worries and tell me to befriend them. The Crazies don't need friends; that's why they're Crazies.
She grabbed the outfit of her choice and dashed out the door before anyone could see her and stop her.

"I don't know how I'm gonna say this, but this whole thing isn't quite working how we expected it to work," Shawnee said as she and Davina sat down to another full day of in-school suspension. They had been suspended for nearly 2 weeks now, and right now, both girls were getting tired of it all. Their placement in the empty classroom. The murderous glares from their classmates. Even the pitiful looks that they were getting from the teachers. "When did we go from being awesome to being complete losers?" Shawnee said aloud.
"Maybe when someone started spreading rumors about the Crazies," said Davina. "And if it's one thing that I hate in this world, it's the Crazies."
"I agree," said Shawnee. "I should have realized that it was the Crazies that blew up that Oriana's car. They did that and blamed us."
"And they use their craziness like a shield," said Davina. "I'm gonna make them pay for it all, one way or another."
Just then, a folded piece of paper was shoved under the door. Davina opened it and it read: "Mia Goff, Claire Sheppard, Mayra Carney, and Lazaro Garner are gonna pin your names on anything that happens with Jennifer Warrington. I suggest that you better leave right now or else you'll never see the outside again. ~A Well Wisher."
"Indeed," said Davina. "We better get the word out so that someone knows about it."
"But they'll never let us leave the room, not even to use the bathroom," said Shawnee. "Who do they think we are? Serial killers?"
"I have an idea," said Davina as she approached the only computer in the detention room. She knew that she had to work fast or else they would be spending the rest of their lives behind bars.

"If this article is true, then everything we ever thought about Davina and Shawnee is a fluke," said Maura. It was now the third period break and the girls were in the library, reading the latest article on Jabberstorm:
Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
The Wicked Blame The Wicked
In an astonishing twist in the story that is currently gripping the entire population of Gothanburg Academy, D.C. and S.W. have written a blog post on here that details everything that has gone down since the day before O.H.'s car was blown up on the HBHS student parking lot:
"You claim that we're bullies and you don't even want to be nice to us or be our friend. That's hurtful. And to even insist that we would do something such as blow up O.'s car is just the stupidest thing that has ever been done. If anything, the fact that we were taken to jail and our faces plastered all over the Miami Herald has done some irreversible damage to our reputations. We don't even know if we want to return to Gothanburg after this.
"But before you choose to ignore us and dismiss this message as stupid and meaningless, it would be nice if you were to know that C.S., M.C., and L.G. have been plotting to kidnap J.W. and do all kinds of atrocious things to her before possibly killing her and hiding her body in such a way that she would never be found. They even spoke of blowing up her car to hide the evidence of their deeds. But they made a serious mistake when they hired those HB students to blow up O.'s car and pinning the crime on us. So if you want to go after someone and make them pay for the crime, go after the Crazies, not us. We may be mean, but even we aren't so cruel as to want to physically harm another student."
Well, I don't know about you, but when I'm reading this, I'm becoming more and more convinced that this letter had to be written. D. and S. had to confess to their deeds of (NOT) blowing up O.'s car. But is it too late to change the opinions of an entire community who believes that the girls are indeed so guilty that even a lifetime spent in jail wouldn't do them any good?
Jennifer read the article and said, "Well, if they didn't do it, they didn't do it. But the real question is, though, why on earth would Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro want to harm me and pin the crime on Davina and Shawnee?"
"And why would they bring Mia onto their side?" said Nancy.
"I thought Mia always picked on crazy people," said Oriana. "Isn't that what she used to do, intimidate other people until they grew discouraged and dropped from the school?"
"Indeed," said Jennifer. "Now, we've got at least four hours until the concert begins, and I need to get myself ready to face the crowd. I tell you now, when this is over, everyone in the school will forget that Mia even existed."
"That's all we can hope for," said Oriana. "Maybe we should have Mia's fake band go on before us."
"Bad idea," said Nancy. "If they go on before, there might not be an after!"
Just then, the bell rang and they all scattered off to their classes. Jennifer frowned, knowing that Mia's warning as quite serious: if she succeeded, then there was no adult in the world that could stop Mia, Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro from destroying her. But if she didn't succeed, then she would be letting the band down.
"I shouldn't have to choose my safety over the band's success," she muttered to herself as she walked into class and began doing the class work. "If anything, I think it's karma that is gonna get Mia in the end. And the fact that she's with the three main crazies isn't gonna help her at all; it's gonna set her back so far that she'll never catch up to me."
She shook her head, knowing that the showdown was in a few hours...

Mia, Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro were cutting classes once again; this time, they were hiding out in the pool area until it was time for the school rally. "Can you believe the nerve of those bitches?" said Mayra as she held up the paper detailing the letter from Davina and Shawnee. "They're trying to squeal on us and make us look bad!"
"Well, we'll get them when we get Jen," said Mayra. "Simple as that."
"No," said Lazaro. The other girls stared at him. "What I meant to say was that we really need to watch them," he said. "You'll never know if they're planning to take this and go public."
"Well, they just did," said Claire. "They practically told the world that we were the ones who put the fireworks in Oriana's car."
"It's not like we can’t get her to join the dark side," said Mayra. "She's much too close to Jen and the other girls."
"Well, what if we can get someone who can join us?" said Mia. "Someone who can perhaps persuade Oriana to join us. Someone who may have a grudge against Jennifer Warrington and all she implies?"
"Well, I would suggest Delbert Schmidt, except he's no longer here," said Claire. “And it’s too bad for him; he would have brought Jen down real quick.”
"How's about Nigel Barnes?" said Lazaro. "That way, I won't have to be the only boy in the group."
"Absolutely not!" Mia snapped at him. "I don't want two boys in my band, just one. And I say that we should invite Rachael Curtis to be part of our band."
"Who? That girl who blew the whistle on the clubs after they refused to allow Delbert to join?" said Mayra. "She's perfect!"
"Of course," said Mia. "I *am* a genius, after all. Why don't we ask her after school?"
"Agreed," said Claire and Lazaro, who was feeling deflated since Mia refused his request to allow Nigel to join the band.
"Now, let's hop to it," said Mia. "We've got a concert to ruin."

"You want us to wear WHAT???"
The girls gasped as they saw Mr. Cunningham holding up their outfits for the concert. The outfits consisted of a stylish cheerleading uniform designed in dark pink and vivid purple and a pair of short boots with heels. "There's like no way we are ever gonna wear those outfits," Jennifer snapped at him.
"You have to, Jen," said Heather. She, Keona, and Lola were already dressed. "And look what we have for you guys: a pair of earrings for Nancy, a pair of wrist-length fingerless gloves for Oriana, a medium-length cape for Maura, and a pendant for Jennifer. Now go try on the outfits and be quick about it; we've got rehearsals to do before the concert."
"Fine," said Jennifer as she and the other girls went off to get dressed.

"Do you seriously think that I want to join your stupid band? I don't think so!" Rachael snapped as soon as she saw Mia, Claire, Mayra and Lazaro approaching her. "Go find someone else and back away from me, you crazies!"
"But what if you saw that Mia Goff was part of the band?" said Claire. "Then would you say yes to that?"
"Who? Her?" said Rachael. "You know, I would rather swim in a pool filled with man-eating fish than be with the likes of you. Plus, Mia is a terrible singer who would have destroyed Broadway had she been allowed to join that band. Now, unless you have other things to do, I'm gonna be off now." She walked away from the group and as soon as she turned a corner, she stopped and said, "And by the way, if you ever bother me or even go near me, I'll have you arrested. My father is a cop, you know."
"Well, that sucks," said Lazaro.
"Oh well, at least we tried," said Mayra.
"Can't say we didn't persuade her to help us out," said Claire.
Mia was flabbergasted. No one had said no to her before, and it wasn’t going to happen now. Now when she had gotten everything that she had ever wanted, even as a child. "No!" She snapped. “I will NOT accept this! No one says “no” to me! Who does that little chit think she is?”
“Let it go, Mia,” said Claire. “She made her choice and she can live with it. But we’ve got a show to do.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” said Mia. “After all, it is time for us to make our moment happen. All in favor of ruining the concert for Jen, grab your instruments and let’s go!”

“Hello everyone, and welcome to the first ever concert starring the All-American Princesses!” said Datchery as the entire school jammed themselves into the assembly hall. Davina and Shawnee smirked as the rest of the audience applauded, ignoring them. “Anyway, under the direction of Mr. Cristofer Cunningham, former lead singer of the All-Knighters, these seven girls are going to give us a brief showcase of what they’re doing so far. Now, are you ready to hear them sing?”
The crowd cheered as Mia and the others took the stage. Jennifer was still in rehearsal. So far, so good. Mia said, “Hello, everyone!” The room went deathly silent as Davina and Shawnee booed. “While you’re waiting for the All-American Princesses to show up, I thought you could use a bit of entertainment. So anyway, we’re the Hateful Axe and we’d like to perform for you a song that we like to call Highway Blue Society #167.”
The audience remained silent as Mia, Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro began to play the following song:
I met her on the highway ridin' shotgun / I can still recall the boxer shorts she wore
She was crashin' through the guardrail with Miss Piggy, / and I knew that she was rotten to the core;
I told her shrink I'd warp her mind forever; / She said to me she'd have a Swiss on rye;
But who'd have thought she'd wind up with a robot; / She sealed me in the vault and smirked goodbye.
I met her on the highway in September; / I can still recall those training pants she wore;
She was sobbin' at the toll booth in the twilight, and I knew that she would be a crashing bore;
I promised her I'd live off her forever; / She said to me man wasn't meant to fly;
But who'd have thought she'd wind up with my best friend; / You'd think at least that she'd have said goodbye.
My oh my / why oh why did she not give me a chance to say goodbye? / I cry and I sigh / I ask myself daily why / why oh why will I never get the chance to say goodbye?
I met her in a jail cell one fine day; / I can still recall that plastic nose she wore;
She was slurpin' up linguini near Poughkeepsie, / and I knew I'd never love her more
I knew deep down I'd warp her mind forever; / She said to me there was no other guy;
But who'd have thought she'd run off with her dentist; / I pushed her off the bridge and waved goodbye.
My oh my / why oh why did she not give me a chance to say goodbye? / I cry and I sigh / I ask myself daily why / why oh why will I never get the chance to say goodbye? / My oh my / why oh why did she not give me a chance to say goodbye? / I cry and I sigh / I ask myself daily why / why oh why will I never get the chance to say goodbye?
Well, needless to say, the crowd booed and began throwing plastic water bottles at the band. Jennifer saw this unfolding and shook her head. Mia is such a fool, she muttered to herself. I tried to warn her, but she didn’t listen to me. Now look at her.
“Jerks!” Mia waved her middle finger at the audience as Claire and Mayra dragged her off the stage. Lazaro frowned as he followed the girls; to him, none of this would have happened had they allowed Nigel into the group.
During the confusion, Jennifer had Maura and Nancy drop the curtains and the other girls quickly cleaned up the stage. When everything was set up, the curtains were drawn up and Jennifer said, “I take it that you guys hated the opening act.” The crowd booed once again. “Now for the real reason why you guys are here. We’re gonna start real slow, so here we go.”
Oriana nodded and the other girls began to play the High School Headline News: 
Jennifer: Once there were three dumb kids who one day / decided that it cool to blow up someone else's car / But little did they know that someone else was watching them / and you won’t believe it, they got caught in the act / So now they've gone and destroyed the car / and now two innocent girls are serving hard time in prison / Tell me, how did it come to this?
Jennifer & Nancy: Mmm mmm mmm mmm, mmm mmm mmm mmm [smack] OW!
Nancy: Once there was this girl up in California who / was trying to get out of working on a project with the class bully / when she spotted her baby picture on a missing child poster at McDonald's / now who'd thought that her parents would kidnap her and / how did she recognize her own baby picture / now she's all over the news once again / So tell me, why should we give a crap about this at all?
Jennifer & Nancy: Mmm mmm mmm mmm, mmm mmm mmm mmm [smack] OW! Mmm mmm mmm mmm, mmm mmm mmm mmm / now she's got her story all over the press and she's also getting the big movie rights…and what about the other children who are never coming home?
Jennifer: And then there was a boy who liked to talk everyone’s heads off / until one day he went way too far and revealed a secret that should have stayed hidden / and before you know it, someone threw a book at his head / he fell to the ground and didn’t get up for a few hours / now we're all dying to know / why do we have to put up with people like him?
Jennifer & Nancy: Mmm mmm mmm mmm, mmm mmm mmm mmm / Mmm mmm mmm mmm, mmm mmm mmm mmm / what is going on with this world that we gotta do bad things to each other? / Who do we have to become in order to get respect? / I say [smack] OW! that we must [smack] OW! give up what makes us us [smack] OW! OW! how can [smack] OW! we live [smack] OW! with the knowledge that people hate us [smack] OW! OW! this world [smack] OW! has got [smack] OW! to stop this right now [smack] OW! this world [smack] OW! has got [smack] OW! to stop this right now [smack] OW! this world [smack] OW! has got [smack] OW! to stop this right now [smack] OW!
Little did the girls know that their parents were also sitting in the audience. Karen frowned as she stared at her daughter, who was now in the middle of the stage. “What on earth is she wearing?” she whispered to herself.
“That’s what I like to know,” said Susan. 
“Why are our girls looking like middle school cheerleaders when they call themselves the All-American Princesses?” said Claudia.
“I just want to know where Oriana got the idea for that song,” said Ella.
“Headline News by Weird Al, perhaps,” said Claudia. “Who knows how she is coming up with these crazy ideas. Plus, how she managed to get a poetry book deal is beyond me.”
“Who knows?” said Susan. “But I really don’t like their outfits.”
After the first song ended, there were cheers all around the school rather than jeers at Davina and Shawnee. Apparently, the Fab Four had gotten the message regarding them.
But was it enough, or did they make things even worse for themselves?
Oriana whispered to Jennifer, "Why'd you change the lyrics to the song?"
"Well, what if it wasn't Davina and Shawnee who did the crime?" said Nancy. "I mean, Jen practically told the whole school that it was Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro who did the deed."
"Indeed," said Oriana.
The next song that the girls performed was a song titled "Set Up High" and it went something like this:
Jennifer: All so far away I feel like me / I will always be here for the very first time / set up high and surrendering to gravity / and the wind I can see right / Going through the motions and holding onto you but only / In me this life's not living, baby upside / Down maybe, baby living ain't free / The unknown catches me, heals me, and lifts me back to
Jennifer & Nancy: (chorus) The reality of it all is that life is a drag / I was set up high among the clouds, so how did I fall down to earth / the world's a joke and this life is just a dream / Will I never wake up and see this fantasy?
Jennifer: If you only knew I'd sacrifice my beating Heart / before I'd lose you I wanna feel my Pain / if I can't be there tell Your friends / before you speak a word unless Its to complain / its driving me crazy, crazy baby / What I say it'll be alright it's gonna Be alright / it's gonna stay with me, Safe and ignorant just stay alive maybe we'll turn it around...
Jennifer & Nancy: (chorus) The reality of it all is that life is a drag / I was set up high among the clouds, so how did I fall down to earth / the world's a joke and this life is just a dream / Will I never wake up and see this fantasy?
Nancy: Now's your chance to dance, out in vain all / The stupid fun and all the looks, / Sees and listens she paints the desert with Her eyes / I know I'll always be here for you...
Jennifer: If it's dark, she still shines and I swear Right now / you are a fool, she has a toke and makes A joke / about the rain like a song you're a Melody / you stand divided now which road Will lead you cannot follow...
Jennifer & Nancy: (chorus) The reality of it all is that life is a drag / I was set up high among the clouds, so how did I fall down to earth / the world's a joke and this life is just a dream / Will I never wake up and see this fantasy?
Jennifer: It's a Perfect one, no one else is true here I just Ran out of sight / so I setting myself up high / What you do, to make it home again / I Stand, against the faceless man now I only keep my sanity...
After that song, the applause from the audience was even louder. Mia was standing in the back of the room with the others and watching the whole thing. "I warned her about being better than me," she hissed. "Did I not warn her at all?"
"You never told us about any warning," said Claire.
"Yeah," Mayra agreed. "You're just jealous because Jennifer's always been better than you. So there."
"I'm so gonna make her life miserable," said Mia.
"Well, you can't," said Lazaro. Mia glared at him. "Not when practically everyone and their mother thinks that you're nothing but a talentless hack who can't even sing the right songs. I've got better things to do with my time than to deal with the likes of you."
"We agree," said Claire. "The Hateful Axe is officially finished."
With that, Lazaro, Claire, and Mayra began walking away. Mia gasped in anger; no one walked away from her. In fact, NO ONE was allowed to walk away from her. She snapped in anger, "You signed your names on the dotted line in the contract. That means, I OWN YOU!!!"
"What?" said Mayra.
Mia whipped out a contract that read "We pledge to destroy Jennifer Warrington by using any means necessary; we shall do whatever it takes to intimidate, assault, and even kidnap and/or murder her for everything that she has done to us over the years. But if we are caught or anyone suspects us, we will blame Davina Castenada and Shawnee Wenlock and we will produce fake evidence that will place them at the scene of any crime that has happened to Jennifer. 
"We sign our names and will use this money to make a quick getaway in case we are caught and no one believes our alibis about Davina and Shawnee. And if we back out of this contract, we risk losing everything, including our lives." The signatures read Lazaro Garner, Mayra Carney, and Claire Sheppard. "You see," said Mia, "when you decided to include me in your little clique, you forgot one big detail: I take over and you do as I say. Now, are we clear on this?"
"Well, if you say so," said Mayra.
"Ditto," said Claire.
"I can't believe I signed that contract," said Lazaro.
"Now, are we clear on this matter?" said Mia. The other nodded. "Now, we need to get ready for the next concert. Jennifer may think she's great and all, but I'm the one with real talent."
With that, they all left the auditorium, resolving to make sure that the next concert that Jennifer and her friends set up would flop. 
Jabberstorm.com: The place for high school gossip
Disclaimer: the following names have been changed to initials to protect those who might be involved, although anyone can find out who the aforementioned person is. If you find your name in any of the articles in this site, you obviously have done the deed that is being talked about. Live with your shame.
A Fun Night to be had by all
Yesterday, the Magnificent Trophy, well, make that All-American Princesses, performed at another high school rally at Gothanburg Academy, and this time, THEY ROCKED!!! I mean, everyone was totally enjoying themselves. This band is definitely going places. 
But as for the opening act, a fake country band dubbed the Hateful Axe, their debut was just deplorable. We already know for a fact that they cannot play, dance, or sing, but the fact that they tried to force themselves upon an audience that does NOT want them is just stupid and selfish. When are they going to learn that nobody wants them, not as a band and not even as a group of friends? Plus, overhearing a conversation backstage, M.G. claims that because C.S., M.C., and L.G. have signed their names on a contract, they’re hers to control. What have those crazies gotten themselves into? 
Well, I don’t know about you, but the girls certainly have their work cut out for them. We’ll see them at the mall on Friday night. Ta-ta for now!

Chapter 13
Jennifer found herself waking up once again at 2:30 A.M. Despite the band's success, she had to be extremely careful so that she wasn't by herself when she encountered Claire, Mayra, Mia, and Lazaro. She knew that Mia had threatened her, and she needed to do whatever it took to defend herself.
Maybe I need some self-defense classes, she mused to herself as she packed her things and left for the day. If she was going to face three crazies and a cruel former friend, some self-defense could come in quite handy.

"What the heck did they say about us?" Mia snapped as she read the latest blog post on Jabberstorm.
"Well, they did say that our music sucked," said Lazaro. To be honest, it kind of does."
"Not that," said Mia. "But THIS!" She pointed to the passage, which read "But as for the opening act, a fake country band dubbed the Hateful Axe, their debut was just deplorable. We already know for a fact that they cannot play, dance, or sing, but the fact that they tried to force themselves upon an audience that does NOT want them is just stupid and selfish. When are they going to learn that nobody wants them, not as a band and not even as a group of friends?"
"Well, I think they're biased," said Mayra.
"They have to be if they're going to go around saying stuff like this about us," said Mia. "I want to sing on Broadway! I want to be a star! I can't be one if they keep writing bad reviews about us!"
"Well, you're gonna have to get used to bad reviews," said Claire. "There are some people out there who aren't going to like you at all and even if you have the talent that you claim that you have, they'll never change their minds about you."
"Yeah," said Mayra. "Ever heard of the famous stage actress Cynthia Hatfield? Well, she was quite a talented singer and she was in a lot of successful plays, but she had no idea why very few people liked her as a person."
"Until she discovered that the majority of people who watched her plays didn't like her because of her weight," said Lazaro. "And with that, she had to cut down on the amount of food that she ate and exercised her butt off until she lost a substantial amount of weight. Then she had to get a makeover and such. She had to completely recreate herself in order to make people like her and see her for the great actress that she is."
"And the people?" Mia hesitated to ask.
"They saw her and liked what they saw," said Mayra. "Cynthia later succeeded in her next play and attributed that improvement to those who despised her instead of those who loved her."
"Indeed," said Claire. "And if you want people to like you, you have to give them what they want."
"Like what?" Mia snapped. "Flashy clothes and loud rock music?"
"Well, why do you like country music when you say you want to be on Broadway?" said Lazaro. "Focus on your dreams, not what you want people to like."
"Indeed," said Mia. "Now let's get to work. Since we have so spectacularly showed ourselves to the world due to some bad planning, we'll have to bring in another person. And we still have Jen and those bullies to bring down as well."
"There's Sam Castenada," said Mayra. "He's Davina's younger brother. He'll be the perfect candidate for our plans."
"Find him and bring him here," said Mia. "I think we know what to do with him..."

Rachael Curtis frowned as she faced Davina and Shawnee. They had captured her and Nigel Barnes in the hopes that they would reveal some answers about Mia Goff and her fake country music band. Rachael said, "For the last time, I don't know anything about the Hateful Axe!"
"Why did you capture me?" said Nigel. "I don't even know them!"
"Well, word on the street was that one of you had some sort of communication with them," said Davina. "And we'd like to find out who it is so that we can put an end to them."
"Well, they did try to get me to join them," Rachael began.
"And what answer did you give them?" Shawnee snapped as she stared at Rachael.
No," said Racahel. "I knew that they were up to no good, no thanks to Mia and her little grudge against Jennifer, and when they spoke about me joining their little fake band, I had to leave. That little airhead is gonna get what's coming to her, I swear it."
"Well, Lazaro did invite me to try out for the band," Nigel began, but Davina cut him off. "So you're saying that Mia wanted you two to join her band?"
"Well," said Nigel.
"We all know about their wicked plans," said Shawnee, "and I guarantee you that they are making more now that a big chunk of their plans has been exposed and the authorities have been notified. Now, you two will be spying for us."
"Spying?" said Nigel. "But why?"
"Because even if we go picking on a couple of students, we don't go around plotting to kill them or frame other peopel for our deeds," said Davina. "Now, I want you two to stick to Mia and her group like glue and inform us of where they go, who they speak to, what they speak of. Someway, we have to bring them down before they bring us down."
Just then, the principal came into the room and said, "You two are free to go."
"You mean it," said Shawnee.
"Well, I have sufficient proof that Mia Goff, Claire Sheppard, Mayra Carney, and Lazaro Garner were behind the car explosion and not you," said Datchery. "But I'm warning you two, I'm going to be keeping my eyes on you, so you better be on your best behavior at all times."
"OK then," said Davina. Deep down, she knew that there would be a record number of students who would not be happy to see her back in teh school's hallways and she and Shawnee were banned from both the library and the student lounge. Also, both Davina and Shawnee knew that it wasn't over yet for the two of them, not as far as Mia was concerned...

Meanwhile, in the music room, the Fab Four was still high due to the success of their first concert. "This is great!" Nancy cried out as she was watching a video that was filled with highlights from the concert. "I still can't believe that they loved us!"
"Not only that, but Louis Browning asked me if we were willing to provide the music for his play," said Maura. "And we're also being featured in the yearbook."
"Indeed," said Oriana, who was a bit more giddy than the other girls. "I shall inform you all that my first poetry book will be published at the end of this summer."
"Well, I'm not sure if I'm going to want to read it," said Nancy. "Not if they're dark and macabre."
"Uh, poems about happy things such and rainbows and unicorns are so 80's," said Oriana. "It's time for the poetry world to embrace its dark side."
Jennifer said, "Well, I can understand the dark side, but I wonder why Mia is siding with Claire, Mayra, and Lazaro. Sure I've said some things to them that weren't nice and an apology would be helpful in most cases, but they don't want an apology. They want me gone."
"Gone?" said Nancy. "You mean, gone as in..."
"Extinct. Abolished. Eliminated. Discarded." Jennifer frowned.
"Well, you're just turning yourself into a thesaurus," Maura snapped as she stared at Jennifer. “Please relax!”
"Well, I'm not gonna take that crap from them," said Jennifer as she snapped at them. "I don't have to take crap from anyone!"
"I think I can make that into a song," said Oriana as she whipped out a pen and her notebook. She began scribbling down the lyrics to their next song:
End Of The Crap~by All-American Princesses
You call me names and push me down / you spread rumors about me that aren't true / how am I supposed to deal with someone like you? / You laugh at me whenever I fall down / You try to make me into a clown / but I'm not here for your entertainment, no way...
Chorus: (from Twisted Sister's We're Not Gonna Take it Anymore) Well guess what? I'm not gonna take it...NO! I'm not gonna take it! I'm not gonna take it anymore! Yeah, because we're not gonna take it...NO! We're not gonna take it! We're not gonna take it anymore! / It's time for this crap to end...
"I'm not too sure about this song," said Maura as she read over it. "In fact, it's like a call to arms."
"It is," said Oriana. "A person can take so much being pushed around until they snap. And in this case, we're going to snap using our voices and instruments as opposed to us using guns and fists."
"That's interesting," said Jennifer. The other girls stared at her. "No. I mean, that's really interesting. We should be able to use our music as a force for good."
"Indeed we shall," said Nancy. "Music has won over more people than wars and religion combined."
"And with that, we'll have to perform the song on Friday at the mall," said Maura. "This thing is really looking up for us now."
But little did they know that someone was spying on them, and that spy was going to report back to someone they all despised...

Sam Castenada was one of the least liked students in the sophomore class at Gothanburg Academy.
Was it because his sister was Davina? Was it because he was fat and not very nice? Was it because he was a year and a month older than the rest of the sophomore class? No one knew the exact answer to the questions.
Sam was just as chunky as his older sister, but she was beginning to thin out while he seemed to cling on to the stubborn childhood fat that refused to leave him. Sam was also lighter than his sister, which made for some awkward family moments, as scores of kids (both Black and White) asked him if he was actually adopted.
Mia and Lazaro approached him as he was leaving the library. He said, "Uh, why are you crazies following me? You know I don't like crazies and especially the White ones."
Mia snapped, "So what? You've got a problem with my skin color? Well, I'll fix you up real good..."
"Mia!" Lazaro stopped her with a sharp snap. "Let's not waste time with your racial issues. We're here to recruit him."
"Oh," said Mia. "Right." To Sam, she said, "You look like you don't have any friends around here."
"Well, guess who I have to thank for that," Sam snapped at her.
"Your sister," said Lazaro.
"I want respect," said Sam. 
"We'll help you achieve more than just that," said Mia with a sneer on her face.
"We'll make sure that Davina is sorry that you're even related to her," said Lazaro. "In fact, we're going to make you the #1 draft pick to join our band, the Hateful Axe."
Sam laughed at them, saying, "You think I'm going to join your lame country band? You must be talking out the side of your mouths because I don't like people like you and I think country ain't all that great."
"Look, dude," said Lazaro. "Don't diss the country."
"I only listen to rap and hip-hop," said Sam. The others stared at him. "That's kind of the rules here."
"Screw the rules, we've got money," said Mia.
"And besides, you're throwing away your life on something that's going to destroy you in the end," said Lazaro. "So, what do you say? You join us and we'll help you discredit your sister. She's ruined our lives once, and we're not going to rest until she pays for it."
Sam stared at them for a long time. On one hand, he *could* join then and destroy Davina, or he could say no and go on his merry way. He then said, "Can you at least give me a day to think about it?"
Mia glared at him but Lazaro said, "At least he isn't saying no. Not yet."
She nodded and said, "You may have your day, but I expect an answer by this time tomorrow and for your sake, it had better be the right answer."
Sam rushed off faster than a snake chasing after its prey. Mia said to Lazaro, "I do how that this is a good idea. I really don't like it if anyone said no to me after I gave him this great opportunity to join me in my conquest."
"Maybe we should drop some hints as to his decision," said Lazaro. "With these cool jackets that I found in the charity box down the road, he'll never say no to us."
He held up the rather tacky green and orange jackets, which had a strange design consisting of an eagle holding a black rose. Mia smiled, thinking to herself if the girls could look this good in their cheerleader outfits, then who's to stop us from looking good in our jackets? With these jackets, we'll be unstoppable!
But little did she know that someone was rushing back to someone that she didn't like with their observation about them...

At the same time, the Fab Four was busy writing down the rest of the song, which went like this: 
You call me names and push me down / you spread rumors about me that aren't true / how am I supposed to deal with someone like you? / You laugh at me whenever I fall down / You try to make me into a clown / but I'm not here for your entertainment, no way...
Chorus: Well guess what? I'm not gonna take it...NO! I'm not gonna take it! I'm not gonna take it anymore! Yeah, because we're not gonna take it...NO! We're not gonna take it! We're not gonna take it anymore! / It's time for this crap to end...
You hurt me 100 times / you make me feel like I'm less than what I am / tell me why I should put up with someone like you? / You call me a liar when I tell an adult of your terrible deeds / I say that it's time for me to really sock it to you...
Chorus: Well guess what? I'm not gonna take it...NO! I'm not gonna take it! I'm not gonna take it anymore! Yeah, because we're not gonna take it...NO! We're not gonna take it! We're not gonna take it anymore! / It's time for this crap to end...
I want this to be the end of the crap that you are pulling on me, and not just me, but you won't be bothering anyone else / when will you learn that stuff like this will only lead to pain?
Chorus: We're not gonna take it...NO! We're not gonna take it! We're not gonna take it anymore! / We're not gonna take it...NO! We're not gonna take it! We're not gonna take it anymore! / We're not gonna take it...NO! We're not gonna take it! We're not gonna take it anymore! / It's time for this crap to end...It's time for this crap to end...It's time for this crap to end...you may cry and whine and complain, you can threaten me all you want, but it's time for this crap to end!
Just then, a student office aide came to the classroom and said, “Maura Paltrier, Principal Datchery wants to see you in his office immediately.” Maura frowned and followed the student aide down to the principal’s office. Jennifer, Nancy, and Oriana followed them. But when they got to the office and hid under the table by the door, they could hear screaming and cursing, coming particularly from Maura herself. 
“Sounds like Maura’s dad is here,” said Jennifer. The other girls nodded as they watched what should have been a normal father-daughter reunion quickly escalate into a big shouting match from Maura’s end.




###

Thank you for reading this story; I hope that you’ve enjoyed it. Please don’t hesitate to tell your family and friends about this story and be on the lookout for more stories written by me.


About the author:
Since she was about 9 years old, Jacquel has been making up short stories on any given subject. She continued writing stories while in high school, often giving up a decent social life in favor of the world of her imagination. Unlike the main protagonist in Magical Compositions, Jacquel has never joined a rock band.

Other Works by Claire Violet Thorpe
Life, Sin, & Blood
Notorious: The Story of Candy Cane
The Secret Library Guardians: The Seventh Secret
How Harry Potter Ruined My Town
Dark World: Book 1 of The Dark & Moody World Saga
Cosplay! The Novel
Band Geeks: A Tale of a High School Marching Band
From the Deep End of the Swimming Pool
I Sing Of the Good Things That I Hate, Or More Appropriately, A Novel For Those Who Have Never Been in the Glee Club
The Rose Vine in the Church Yard

Connect with Me Online:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/sparkles4edward
Facebook: http://facebook.com/jacquel.c.may
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My blog: http://clairevioletthropeexpress.wordpress.com/